The Amazing Race: Anime Edition
by auricachan
Summary: It's a new season of The Amazing Race, and guess who are the contestants? A Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and YuGiOh crossover. Chap. 15 up! The teams now enter England.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hi, everybody! Finally, I managed to rewrite this fan fic. Hopefully, it's better than the first _Amazing Race: Anime Edition_. Oh, yeah. For better understanding, I've added footnotes at the end of each chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh. I do not own the Imperial Hotel either.

**THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION**

**CHAPTER 1**

It wasn't the summer holidays yet, but more people seemed to have trickled in the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo for some odd reason. Thirty-five of the guests have split up into groups of four and have settled themselves in the spacious lobby of the hotel. Each member of the group was talking energetically to their fellow members. Why were they here again? They were the contestants of the newest season of _The Amazing Race_.

Let's start with the group of teenagers seated across the receptionist's desk. From their looks, one would assume that they were taking part in a cosplay competition. Actually, they were just ninjas who came all the way from the small and remote village of Konoha. They were only forced by their senseis, Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai, who were two of the biggest _Amazing Race_ fans ever since Konoha had been given cable television. Only two members of the group were huge _Amazing Race_ fans, and they came by the names of Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee.

"Isn't this exciting?" Naruto cried eagerly, running around the huge couch that was able to accommodate their group. Some guests turned to stare at him, shocked at the blond ninja's behavior. After all, sophistication is the only thing put up with in a high-status place such as the Imperial Hotel.

Lee nodded in agreement. "I know!" Tears of joy were already flowing down his face. "All my life I've wanted to become a contestant, and now's my chance!"

"Let's just hope that we won't be crawling under a rock after this," Sasuke said sourly, sighing for the umpteenth time.

Neji sighed along with Sasuke. Being the typical spoilsports that they were – they don't even watch the show, for Pete's sake – they were only forced to join the show. It was a choice of joining or being forced to read _Icha Icha Paradise_ along with Kakashi. And they were only thirteen; they do not want their innocent minds to be scarred for life, do they?

"Cheer up, you guys," Sakura said. As much as she wasn't a huge _Amazing Race_ fan, she decided that joining the show would be good for her. It would be nice to go to other countries, even if they will be competing for a price. "Let's just think of it as a vacation from our missions. It'll be fun, I promise!"

"That's right," Hinata seconded the motion.

Sasuke and Neji sighed, knowing that if they give up right now, Kakashi's magazines will be waiting for them. Might as well try to be optimistic … if that was even possible for them.

The next group comprising of seven high school students was sitting next to the café. Only one member of the group looked like an elementary student was holding a bunny stuffed toy and was delighting in a slice of chocolate cake. From their manners, one would assume that they come from a high-status school. Indeed, they were students from the prestigious Ouran Academy.

There was another group sitting not too far away from the Ouran students. From their appearances, one can assume that they were athletes. This time, they were members of Seishun Gakuen Middle School's tennis team.

Fuji, the brown-haired teen from Seigaku who had his blue eyes perpetually closed, stood up from the couch and approached the Ouran group. The group took notice and turned to look at him. It was then that the tall, blond teen named Tamaki widened his blue eyes at the sight of Fuji. "Fuji-san, isn't it?" he said, surprised.

Fuji let out a chuckle. "I should have known that we'd meet here once more, Suoh-san," he said.

"You know him, Fuji-senpai?" Momo, the tall black-haired boy from Seigaku, said in amazement.

"Hai," Fuji replied. "We met when we were registering for the show."

"So, he also forced you guys into joining the show?" Hikaru piped up. It was true; Tamaki suddenly signed them up for the show without any explanation whatsoever. Not that he minded, though. It's not every day that he could play a game like this.

Kyouya, another Ouran student, took the time to observe this Fuji guy's group. Then his eyes stopped on the jacket of the boy wearing a white cap. "By any chance, are you from Seigaku?" he had to ask.

"Yes, we are," Tezuka, the ever-so-stern captain of the Seigaku tennis team, replied. "Why do you ask?" He had heard of Ouran's tennis club. It wasn't much of a force to be reckoned with. Not that he can say that out loud, of course.

"My cousin Choutarou talked about Seigaku once," Kyouya replied. "And a family friend of Tamaki's talked about your school as well."

"Ah, you mean Keigo?" Tamaki said cheerfully. The Atobes were the Suohs' family friend. Keigo was supposed to study in Ouran, but he ended up choosing Hyotei, Ouran's sister school, because of the tennis team.

"Wait, wait, wait," Momo interrupted the conversation. "By 'Choutarou' and 'Keigo', do you mean Ohtori Choutarou and Atobe Keigo?"

Kyouya and Tamaki nodded. Momo didn't notice that Kaoru and Hikaru – the twins from Ouran – were giving him a look that said "DUH!"

Inui took the knowledge as an opportunity to take out his green notebook and pen. "Ohtori-san, Suoh-san," he said quite formally, "since you two are quite associated with them, what do you think of their tennis skills?"

The rest of the Seigaku regulars sweat dropped. "Nothing gets past Inui, ne?" Kawamura remarked, forcing a smile. He didn't really know whether he would be amused, embarrassed, or just plain creeped out.

Kyouya was about to reply when a soft voice spoke up from behind them. "Mitsu-niichan? Taka-niichan?"

Tezuka would have turned around, if not for the fact that no one has ever called him "Mitsu" for his entire life. Kawamura, however, having the nickname "Taka," turned around. He eventually realized that he didn't know the boy with disheveled black and huge blue eyes. Beside the boy was a taller boy with brown hair and an expression that said "Get out of my way or I'll kill you."

"Seto-chan! Moku-chan!" Honey squealed, suddenly glomping Mokuba. "How have you been? I haven't seen you guys since, like, FOREVER!"

Kaiba Seto shrunk back as he heard the honorific that Honey had used in his name. Yet, he bowed formally in front of Honey and Mori. "Takashi-san, Haninozuka-san," he greeted brusquely.

"Seto, Mokuba," Mori greeted brusquely. This caused the people surrounding them to sweat drop at their … well … brusqueness.

"Hold it, Kaiba." From behind them, a boy with blond hair and a big mouth spoke up. He was wearing jeans and a green polo shirt. "You know these guys?" He pointed to Honey and Mori.

"Obviously," Seto said, rolling his eyes. "Most of the bodyguards in the Kaiba Corporation come from the Haninozuka and the Morinozuka family. It's usually featured in the news. Don't you watch any news anymore, Katsuya?"

"Well, I'm sorry if ESPN is more interesting than NHK!" Jou snapped. He huffed and returned to his group of friends. He found his best friend, Yugi talking to a really short boy. "Hey, Yugi. Who's that?"

"Oh, hey, Jou-kun," Yugi greeted. "I'd like you to meet Oyamada Manta. He lives next door to the game shop."

Manta smiled and gave a short wave.

"Oi, Manta!" A boy with light blue hair suddenly joined in on the conversation. His gaze flitted from Yugi to Manta, then to Yugi again, then to Manta again. "You didn't tell me that you're friends with _the_ Mutou Yugi!" He looked at Yugi again and beamed widely. "Hi! I'm Horo Horo, and I'm a huge fan of yours. Can I have your autograph?"

Before Yugi could reply, however, the receptionist approached them. "Excuse me," she said in a fluent English accent. "Mrs. Doganieri and Mr. van Munster want all of the contestants to go to the restaurant."

The groups stood up from where they were sitting. Some of them looked at each other in confusion. Then, they saw Seto and his group head to the flight of stairs. Shrugging to themselves, they decided to follow him.

Seto, of course, had been to the Imperial Hotel more than once in his life. This was always his destination during local – and sometimes international – meetings with the different branches of the Kaiba Corp. He had already known every nook and cranny of the hotel, to be honest.

They entered the restaurant in the second floor. Everything was quiet, and there were no people there. They discovered, however, that there were two adults – a man and a woman – and eight teenage girls sitting in a long table. Everyone figured that they must be the staff of the show.

"Good afternoon, everyone," the man greeted. "Please have a seat."

Everyone took their seats and was offered some onion soup before the woman cleared her throat. "Some of you probably know the two of us." She gestured to the man beside her. "But for the sake of those who don't, I'm Elise Doganieri and this is Bertra von Munster. We are the creators of _The Amazing Race_, in which you will be the contestants."

"And we'd also like to introduce you to the cameramen and the new host for the show," Mr. van Munster added. "The new host for the show will be Kasumi Yamazaki. These seven girls behind her will be the cameramen for each of the groups."

After the introductions, the two creators explained the rules of the show. The waiters, meanwhile, went and served them with the most luxurious meals. After that, the conversation went to the groupings.

"Before, the show only included teams with two members," Mrs. Doganieri said. "But for this season, we decided to have seven teams with five members each, in which the members will be selected randomly."

"Take a look at that small box beside your plate," Mr. van Munster instructed.

Everyone looked to their right. There was a small box next to them; the waiters have placed the boxes next to them just a few moments ago.

Mrs. Doganieri and Mr. van Munster stood up and prepared to leave. "Take your time to get yourself acquainted with your teammates." With that, they left.

At that, Kasumi stood up. "Okay, everyone," she spoke up, "I want you to open your boxes at the count of three. One … two … THREE!"

Everyone took their boxes and opened them at the same time. There, they found a number. Kasumi explained that they can now look for those people who had the same number in their boxes.

The first team was composed of Hitachiin Kaoru, Hyuuga Hinata, Kujaku Mai, Oishi Syuichiroh, and Tao Ren. Their cameraman was Takayama Kim. The group was off to a bad start, the atmosphere filled with awkward silences. Mai looked indifferent and busied herself with filing her nails; Kaoru's hands were over his head, obviously bored; Ren kept glaring daggers at everyone every now and then. Only Hinata and Oishi looked like they wanted to say something, but couldn't find the right words.

The second team consisted of Kaiba Mokuba, Katsuya Jounouchi, Morinozuka Takashi, Tezuka Kunimitsu, and Uzumaki Naruto. Their cameraman was Kawaguchi Natsumi. While the first team was awkwardly silent, the second team was dead silent. Mori and Tezuka simply nodded to each other. Mokuba, Jou, and Naruto looked confused at the two teens' behavior.

Chocolove, Kikumaru Eiji, Mutou Yugi, Suoh Tamaki, and Uchiha Sasuke were members of the third team. Nomura Shizuka was their cameraman. The group had great chemistry from the start. They started introducing each other and already giving pep talks to themselves. It was only Sasuke who looked out of place.

Haninozuka Mitsukuni, Hyuuga Neji, Inui Sadaharu, Kaidoh Kaoru, and Oyamada Manta were members of the fourth team. Their cameraman was Yamazaki Megumi. Kaidoh was relieved that he was grouped with someone he knew, particularly his Inui-senpai. Neji and Manta seemed to be getting along just fine. Honey, meanwhile, started to christen his teammates with nicknames. Neji was Ne-chan, Inui was Ii-chan (because he kept saying "Ii data" and calling him "Inu-chan would be too weird), Kaidoh was Mamu-chan (since he heard Momo call his teammate "Mamushi" and since his schoolmate, Kaoru, was already Kao-chan), and Manta was Man-chan.

The members of the fifth team were Fuji Syusuke, Hiroto Honda, Horo Horo, Ohtori Kyouya, and Rock Lee. Their cameraman was Igarashi Siopee. Fuji and Kyouya got along well, and so did Horo Horo, Honda, and Lee. Fuji's friends and Kyouya's friends, meanwhile, moved away from the team. The two _tensais_ were definitely a force to be reckoned with.

The members of the sixth team were Fujioka Haruhi, Haruno Sakura, Kyouyama Anna, Mazaki Anzu, and Momoshiro Takeshi. Their cameraman was Shiomi Saemi. It was only then that Momo realized that he was the only guy in the group. Part of him felt upset, but another part of him felt quite lucky. I mean, he's a guy, after all; a guy somehow has to love being surrounded by a group of girls.

Finally, the seventh team was comprised of Asakura Yoh, Echizen Ryoma, Hitachiin Hikaru, Kaiba Seto, and Kawamura Takashi. Their cameraman was Hayata Rina. Ryoma felt relieved that he had his Kawamura-senpai as his teammate. Yoh and Hikaru were already striking up a conversation. Seto, meanwhile, kept glancing at the second team. He was already worried as to what harm his little brother might befall now that he's teamed up with Katsuya.

Kasumi watched the teams get to know each other. She let out a small smirk. "Okay, guys, there's a room assigned to each team. I expect all of you guys to get a good night's sleep, for the race starts tomorrow afternoon. So good luck!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Yay! I finally got reviews on my first chapter! Thanks to **Hao is hot**, **animewahine**, **wicked PrInCesZ**, **evilgoddess62**, **Viridian**, **Azure**, and **kirrah05**. I love you all!

Special thanks to **evilgoddess62** and **Saemi-chan** for correcting me on Honey-kun's name.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh. I don't own the Philippines, either. I do live there.

And now … CHAPTER 2! Enjoy, everyone!

**THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION**

**CHAPTER 2**

11:45 am. Another normal day for the staff of the Tokyo Imperial Hotel. For the thirty-five and more people gathered outside the hotel, however, it was the start of a new adventure. The cameramen were already setting up their equipment and the groups were already checking their stuff. The race was almost about to start.

"So where are Doganieri-san and van Munster-san?" Sakura asked, opening her pack to check if her stuff was in order. Towels, check. Beauty kit, check. Teddy bear … hold it. Why the hell did she bring that?

"Oh, they'll be watching in their studio," Kasumi replied. She looked at her watch; it was already 11:50 am. "Okay, everybody, places! The race will start in 12 pm. In the meantime, you can now open your clues."

The representatives who took the clue from the cameramen opened the said clue. Honda was the first to open it and he read out loud, "_Take a plane ride to Manila, Philippines. Make sure you only purchase an economy-class ticket. Take a ride to Fort Santiago in Intramuros after._"

"Philippines, huh?" Fuji said, rubbing his chin contemplatively. "I haven't been there before. It should be fun to pay a visit there."

"Oh, you'll have fun there, I promise," Siopee remarked as she turned on her camera.

"You've been to the Philippines before?" Horo Horo said in awe.

"Well, we do have to check all the travel destinations before we start producing the next season of the show," Siopee said wryly. "By the way, there's something else in your envelopes."

Honda looked at the envelope again and pulled out a few wads of bills. "These aren't yen," he said, pointing out the obvious.

"These are Philippine pesos," Siopee explained, her tone sort of aggravated. "It'll be a hard time converting currencies, so we'll be giving you the money equivalent to the native currency of the country." She frowned at Honda. "Are you sure you listened to the rules yesterday?"

Honda grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I was too busy enjoying the cake!" was his useless excuse.

Kasumi looked at her watch once more – it was already 11:59 am. "Okay, guys, go to your positions! We'll be starting the race in thirty seconds!"

Everyone reunited with their teams and paced themselves in a running stance. Eiji took the time to glance at his doubles partner. "Oishi! Ganbatte, nya!" He then gave Oishi a thumbs-up.

Oishi had to smile and return the thumbs-up. "Same to you, Eiji."

"Three …"

"Wah!" Naruto cried. "I forgot my extra socks!"

"Two …"

"Is it really necessary to scream it out loud?" Jou sighed in exasperation.

"One …"

"I just – "

"GO!"

At that instant, the seven teams rushed away. Some hailed for a taxi, others headed for the nearest bus station, or went on foot to get to their destination – Tokyo International Airport. The race has begun.

~*~

**Team 1**

It was 1:30 pm when Team 1 arrived at the airport. "Six economy-class tickets for a flight to Manila, please," Mai told the ticket lady.

Ren looked at their cameraman, Kim. "Do we really have to pay for you for the flight?" he asked reluctantly.

Kim was clearly insulted. "Of course! I'll be going along with you for filming purposes. You have to pay for my ticket."

"That will be ¥14,820, please," the ticket lady said after a few minutes. (1)

"Anou … How much yen is equal to Philippine pesos?" Hinata asked.

Oishi suddenly found the weight of the dilemma. If they were going to use the native currency of some other country to pay for the tickets, it would take a lot of time to convert it.

"You can always use the _Amazing Race_ credit card, you know," Kim said. She fished something from inside her backpack and took out a golden credit card.

Team 1 sweat dropped. Obviously, they haven't watched the previous seasons of the show.

Kim handed the credit card to Mai. "But you can only use it for transportation purposes, or unless Kasumi-chan tells you to."

Mai frowned. "Why didn't you say so?" She snatched the credit card and handed it to the ticket lady.

The ticket lady swiped the credit card and typed something in her computer before handing six tickets to Mai. "Here are your tickets. Enjoy your flight!"

~*~

**Team 3**

Team 3 arrived in Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 3:45 pm. It was the end of March, yet the airport was thronging with people by the time they descended the plane. It was summer in the Philippines, and so many Filipinos were going to different places to spend their vacation. (2)

"That was the most magnificent ride I've ever had!" Tamaki said, a bunch of metaphorical roses appearing from out of nowhere. "Who would have thought that riding a commoner's plane would be so enjoyable?"

"It's called an _economy-class_ plane, nya!" Eiji pointed out. It was exasperating that Tamaki kept calling anything middle-class "commoner." He really sounds like Atobe … Then again, the two _are_ family friends.

"The plane ride suddenly reminded me of a joke!" Chocolove suddenly piped up.

Sasuke groaned for what seemed like the nth time. "Not again …"

"A kid said to his career master that he'd like to join the Air Force. Then the career master said, 'You like flying, don't you?' 'Yes, sir,' the boy replied. 'As long as I can keep one foot on the ground!'" He fell down and rolled over the ground, laughing hysterically.

Eiji sweat dropped. "I don't get it, nya."

"Me either," the rest of his teammates replied.

A white taxi stopped in front of them. Yugi opened the front door. "Fort Santiago, please," he told the taxi driver.

The taxi driver nodded. The six of them hopped in and the cab sped off.

~*~

**Team 5**

Team 5's taxi had already entered the walled city of Intramuros at 4:50 pm. Kyouya was arranging his research – the ticket lady upgraded their team to a first-class plane, so he had access to a laptop there. Fuji was looking out the window, snapping a few photos every time the taxi driver stops. As for Honda, he seemed to be in a bad mood. Horo Horo and Lee were imitating some conversation that they heard in the radio. (3)

"Thank you," Horo Horo said.

"You're welcome," Lee replied. "Don't mention it."

"Don't mention what?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Don't mention it."

"Don't mention what?"

"Oh, God, somebody stop them!" Honda cried, hands on his ears. Fuji and Kyouya didn't seem to mind, though.

"So, this is Intramuros," Fuji remarked. "From the looks of the walls, it looks really old … old but timeless."

"Intramuros is one of the oldest cities in Manila," Kyouya said, browsing at his research. "The city is enclosed by thick, high walls and moats. During the Spanish colonization, this was considered Manila itself."

"Ah … I see …" Honda nodded in understanding, trying to drown out the meaningless conversation that Horo Horo and Lee were having.

The taxi finally stopped in front of Fort Santiago's gates. Fuji took out the money, paid the driver, and they all headed out of the taxi.

"How much is the entrance fee for six adults?" Honda asked, too lazy to compute.

Kyouya looked at the sign near the entrance, which stated that an entrance fee for adults is equal to 12 pesos each. "That's 72 pesos for all of us," he said after making a quick computation in his head.

Fuji handed 72 pesos to the guy near the entrance and they were in.

"Wow …" Lee and Horo Horo said, impressed at the view before them. The grass was purely green, with flowers surrounding the place. A horse and carriage passed by the road. Despite the cannons displayed at some places, Fort Santiago definitely looked serene.

"Where do we go now?" Honda asked.

"Let's explore for a while and see what we could find," Fuji suggested.

They passed a bridge near a moat full of lily pads and entered the large gate to find something unusual. There were seven bamboo poles filled with grease at the center of the park. Beside it was a Route Marker.

Fuji smiled. "Well, that wasn't so hard," he remarked.

"What is this?" Lee asked.

Kyouya opened the clue. "_You will be playing a game called palo sebo. One must climb at the bamboo pole filled with grease and try to get to the top. In this case, choose one member of your team to retrieve the flag on top of the bamboo pole. This flag contains your next clue._" He turned to the team. "Which one of you will do it?"

"Lee," everyone said, pointing to the said member.

Lee blinked. "Hey! Why me?"

"Because you're a ninja," everyone replied at the same time. "The faster we can get this over with, the better." They looked at each other in disbelief. Were they psychic or what?

Lee sighed and surrendered. "Fine." He rubbed his hands and held onto the bamboo pole. "Ugh!" he cried, letting go. "The thing's slippery!"

"So?" Honda said as if what Lee just said was the most obvious thing in the world – which it was, by the way. "It's supposed to be slippery. Deal with it!"

Lee pouted. He grabbed onto the pole and did his best to climb up. He wasn't even halfway to the top when he slipped back down.

"Okay …" the entire team said at the same time. Again.

"Am I the only one creeped out by the way all of you are saying the same things at the same time?" Siopee asked.

"Nope," the entire team replied, shaking their heads. At the same time.

They watched Lee struggle to get to the top, while listening to his muttering, loud rants, and curses. Finally, he reached the top and grabbed the flag. "I DID IT! WAHOO!!!" he cried, slipping back down.

"Good job," Horo Horo said, patting Lee's greasy shoulder.

Lee beamed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Horo Horo said. "Don't mention it."

"Don't mention what?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Don't mention it."

"Don't mention what?"

WHAM!

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SANE, WOULD YOU CUT IT OUT?!" Honda cried, hitting the two boys' heads.

Fuji took the flag from Lee and read its contents. "We're supposed to head to some place here called _Almacenes Reales_," he told his teammates.

"I think it's over there," Horo Horo said. He pointed to one of the old buildings at their left.

"How did you know?" Honda asked. The last time he asked Horo Horo for directions, they got complaints from angry businessmen at the hotel.

"Because there's a sign over there that reads _Almacenes Reales_," Kyouya replied for Horo Horo. "Now let's go."

Honda followed his teammates, feeling more short-tempered by the minute.

~*~

Almacenes Reales was a gloomy place, the fifth team noted, as the placed looked like it hadn't been touched for many years. However, they figured that it was just a theme when they saw two long tables—one of them had different containers—and five chairs, already being occupied by Team 7.

"Ah, it's one of Mutou's friends," Seto said, smirking. "What was your name again?"

The vein clear on Honda's forehead finally popped. He was in a very bad mood, and he hated being recognized by people as the forgotten one in Mutou Yugi's gang. "It's Hiroto Honda! Remember that, you pretentious, haughty—"

Lee and Horo Horo covered Honda's mouth before he could say something inappropriate for a family-friendly show.

"Hi, Taka-san and Echizen," Fuji greeted.

"Hey," the two greeted—one was friendly, the other expressionless.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Lee asked, staring at the containers, and then at Team 7.

"We're just about to start," a girl said; she was wearing a traditional Filipino costume – the _barot saya_ – said. "If you want to join Team 7, please get some seats so we can get started."

When Team 5 pulled up some seats and sat across Team 7, the girl continued. "Your next challenge will involve exposing yourselves to traditional Filipino cuisine."

"So that means we have to eat?" Yoh said, instantly brightening up. That made up for that greasy pole-climbing experience!

"That's right. So please pick a representative. He'll choose what the team has to eat."

A few minutes of discussion followed before Fuji and Hikaru stood up and went to the other long table.

"Just a note," the girl spoke up, "you have to choose three dishes without opening the containers."

Hikaru observed the many containers on the long table, wishing he had x-ray vision. "I pick the third, sixth, and ninth containers," he finally said.

"How about Team 5?" the girl asked.

"I choose the first, fourth, and seventh containers," Fuji said after a few seconds.

"Okay, you may now take your containers with you," the girl instructed. As Hikaru and Fuji placed the containers in the long table, the other members stared at it curiously, seriously wishing that they have x-ray vision.

"You're probably wondering what's in it," Rina remarked.

Ryoma looked at her with an expression that said "Duh!"

"For Team 7, you chose the _chicharong bituka_, the _isaw_, and the _goto_," Rina said, opening the container. "The _chicharong bituka_ is a crispy, deep-fried pig's intestines. The _isaw_ are grilled chicken intestines. The _goto_, meanwhile, is rice porridge with ox tripe."

"I'm kind of shocked at the fact that two of our cuisines have something to do with animal intestines," Kawamura remarked unhappily.

"For Team 5, you chose _balut_, _leche flan_, and _mamon_," Siopee said, opening the containers. "The _balut _is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. The _leche flan_ is caramel custard, and _mamon_ is a sponge cake."

The entire Team 5 – except Fuji – looked terrified as they laid their eyes on the _balut_ container. "Are you sure we're supposed to eat all of this?" Horo Horo asked cautiously.

"Yes," Siopee replied. "You can't get the next clue unless all of you eat all of the food in the containers. So … enjoy!"

~*~

"I have to admit these things aren't as bad as I expected them to be," Kawamura said, chewing the _chicharong bituka_.

"Mm-hm," Yoh agreed, and the others did a double-take to realize that the young shaman was already finished with his meal. "Man, am I stuffed!"

"Seto-san …" Hikaru smirked at the president of the Kaiba Corporation, who was looking at the food as if it was swarmed with cooties. "We won't win if you don't start eating."

Seto glared at Hikaru. "I'm just … waiting for all of you to finish …" he mumbled halfheartedly.

"Or maybe you're just scared," Ryoma mocked, finishing his meal with a can of Royal True Grape. (4)

Seto twitched his eyebrow. "Fine, then, I'll show you that Kaiba Seto's not afraid." He took a huge forkful of the _isaw_ and ate it in one huge bite. His teammates watched in expectation, and a few seconds later, the Great Kaiba Seto lost consciousness and fell from his chair.

"I guess he has weak constitutions when exotic food is concerned," Hikaru remarked, holding back his laughter. He shrugged. "Oh well."

"I guess we have to wait until he wakes up," Kawamura said.

"You guys are done already?" Siopee asked when she saw that Team 5's containers were entirely clean.

"Hai!"

"Good, here's your next clue." The girl handed an envelope to Kyouya. "Good luck!"

"Excuse me," Fuji suddenly spoke up.

"Yes?" the girl said.

"Can I have some more of this _balut_?" Fuji asked. "It really tastes wonderful."

The rest of Team 5 looked at Fuji as if he were crazy, as they considered the _balut_ nothing but disgusting. Kyouya could have sworn that he just ate the duckling's beak … He shuddered, trying to hold back the memory.

The girl blinked. "Uh … sure …"

"Thank you," Fuji said, grabbing another duck egg. "Well, we'll be going now. Ja!" Team 5 left, leaving the people in Almacenes Reales dumbfounded.

"That Fuji is one weird guy," Yoh remarked as he fanned Seto with a paper napkin.

"Tell me about it," Ryoma and Kawamura said at the same time.

~*~

**FOOTNOTES**

(1) All money references in this fan fic are approximate.

(2) Summer in the Philippines starts at the end of March and ends at the beginning of June.

(3) It's the _San Miguel Beer_ commercial on the radio. I keep laughing every time I hear this.

(4) Royal True Grape is the equivalent of Ponta Grape in the Philippines.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **OMG! I had eight reviews for the second chapter! Thank you so much!

**Replies for Reviewers:**

**Ria Sakazaki: **Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try to do better next time.

**Megumi Yamazaki: **Imouto! I love ya! **(glomps)**

**Klyc: **Hehehe… _Buti na lang sa Pinas ko nilagay, noh? Oo nga pala, ikaw si Kim dun sa fic. Soric kung di ko nasabi agad_.

**Sesshyro, Dazed Dreamer, CrazyGirlofManyNames: **Thanks for the encouragement!

**Hao is hot, forgotten hyoshi: **Yep – EW! I've never eaten _balut_ before, and I'm never planning to.

**Kaos-chan: **Thanks for pointing out the technical mistakes. I already corrected them. I think I'll be adding side characters as well, although I'm not sure about adding Kasanoda…

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh. I don't own the Philippines either.

»» **THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION ««**

**»» CHAPTER 3 ««**

**6:32 p.m.**

**Group 6 **(Anzu, Anna, Momo, Haruhi, Sakura)

Anna, Anzu, Haruhi, Sakura, and Saemi tapped their feet with irritation. They were sitting on one of the benches of the Fort Santiago parks, waiting for Momo to come out of the bathroom. His poor stomach couldn't handle the food that they just ate for the challenge.

"So what's the clue again?" Anna asked as she fiddled with her red bandana. There was nothing else to do to pass the time.

Anzu took the clue from her backpack. _"Take a jeep ride to Manila Metropolitan Theater_," she read. "Hmm… Haruhi, can you check where that is on the map?"

Haruhi took out a map that they had just bought from the park. "It says here that Manila Metropolitan Theater is somewhere in Pasay, near an amusement park called Star City. It's not far from here, though."

Suddenly, Momo appeared. The girls stood up and crossed their arms, looking at him irately.

"What took you so long?" Saemi said impatiently. "We've been waiting here for half an hour!"

"He he he…" Momo grinned awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "You see… The knotty pathways of the park have darkened by sense of reasonableness and direction, inducing me to spend the last half hour, searching far and wide for the one way that would lead me to my desired destination(i).

The girls all stared at Momo for a minute. Some crickets chirped in the background, and they could have sworn that they saw a tumbleweed fly by.

"So… taken as a whole, you got lost," Sakura pointed out.

Momo grinned. "I know," he said. "But I like my version better."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just go." With that, she headed for the exit.

Momo stuck his tongue out at Anna's back. "Joy killer!"

**»» WOOT! ««**

**Time: **6:54 p.m.

"Okay… this isn't what I have in mind…" Anzu remarked. Team 6 and Saemi were squished on one side of the jeepney heading to the Manila Metropolitan Theater. In addition, the other passengers were giving them bizarre looks. It's not every day that foreigners ride in jeepneys. Worse than that, a man sitting across Haruhi started talking to them.

"Are you American?" he asked.

Haruhi shook her head. "We're Japanese," she replied good-naturedly.

"Ah, Japanese!" the man cried, brightening up immediately. "That reminds me of a Japanese song… Moshi-moshi anone! Karaoke(ii)!"

Team 6 – plus Saemi – stared at the man for a minute before looking at each other, silently asking if they ever knew that song.

"So… where are you going?" the man asked, obviously excited at the sight of foreigners.

"We're heading to the Manila Metropolitan Theater," Momo replied offhandedly.

The passengers gasped and the driver slammed hard on the brakes, causing the jeep behind them to almost bump on them.

"Manila Metropolitan… Theater…?" The man's voice was now shaking and the other passengers were whispering among themselves. The driver, meanwhile, started the engine again.

"Uh huh," Saemi replied, nodding.

"Don't go there," the man warned.

Sakura cocked her head to one side, bewildered. "Why?"

"Because there's _multo_ in there(iii)!"

Now all of them were bewildered. But before they could ask for an explanation, the jeep stopped in front of a huge theater with an Egyptian theme in it. A guy with orange hair was standing by the entrance.

"So, do any of you guys have any idea on what that guy just said?" Anzu asked as they approached the orange-haired guy.

Anna shrugged. "I don't know, but all of them looked scared stiff when Momo mentioned the name of the theater," she replied.

"It's probably the motif that got the people frightened," Momo said, looking at the hieroglyphs.

"I don't think that's the case…" Sakura commented.

Haruhi, meanwhile, blinked at the orange-haired guy. She knew she had seen him before… "Ichigo-kun?"

The orange-haired guy called Ichigo blinked as well. "Ha-Haruhi?!"

"You two know each other?" Anna asked.

"Hai," Haruhi replied. "Guys, this is Kurosaki Ichigo (iv). He lives next door to us. Ichigo-kun, these are my teammates."

Ichigo looked at the rest of Team 6 and nodded in greeting.

"So what brings you here, Ichigo-kun?" Haruhi asked curiously.

"_Someone_ signed me up as a staff for the show," Ichigo replied, frowning at the memory. "That idiot… Really… I never even watch this show…"

Team 6 – plus Saemi – just stared at Ichigo as he rambled on and on about someone he calls "idiot." Anzu decided to interrupt him a minute later. "So… aren't you supposed to tell us what the challenge is?"

Ichigo sighed. "Fine… You're supposed to retrieve an amulet there. And the group has to split into two, and once someone has found the amulet, head to the main lobby. Use these." He handed Momo a black bag.

Momo opened the bag and found two walkie talkies, six flashlights, and two maps of the theater. "Cool," he remarked.

"Go on ahead," Ichigo said, pointing to the entrance. "But beware," he added ominously. "You never know what might be in there."

Team 6 blinked, shrugged, and headed inside. The theater was pitch black, and no one could really see a thing. It even looked like it hadn't been used for decades – or worse, centuries.

"Man, this place gives me the creeps," Momo said, opening his flashlight and the map.

"Ow!" Saemi suddenly cried, impulsively whacking Momo on the head. "Momo-chan, you stepped on my foot!"

"Gomen…" Momo said, rubbing his painful head. "But you didn't have to hit me that hard…"

"Whatever," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "Can we just decide on who's going where?"

"I'll take the main theater," Anna volunteered, trying to make out the details of the map in dim light. In case something paranormal appears, she can always… well… she wasn't called an _itako_ for nothing(v).

"Me, too," Sakura added. She knew she'll be safe with Anna around.

"So that leaves us with the East Wing Theater and the West Wing Theater," Anzu pointed out(vi). "How about Haruhi and I head to the East Wing Theater while Momo-kun and Saemi-chan head to the West Wing Theater?"

Saemi grinned as she adjusted her video camera to night mode. "Sure," she said doggedly. "Yosh! Let's go, Momo-chan!" She grabbed Momo by the back of his shirt and dragged him away.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**7:18 p.m.**

**West Wing Theater, Manila Metropolitan Theater**

"So, Saemi-chan, where should we start looking at?" Momo asked, shining his flashlight on the small stage.

Saemi raised an eyebrow. "_We_?" she said. "I'm not even a contestant here. _You_ go look for it."

"Well, I need help, too!" Momo retorted, hands on his hips.

"I'm not supposed to help a contestant," Saemi said composedly.

Their fight continued until they heard a creaking sound by the stage. The two instantly shut up and looked at the stage, gulping.

"What… was that?" Momo asked timidly.

"Beats me," Saemi replied. "Let's go check it out." Before Momo could reply, she grabbed him and they approached the stage. "I think there's something behind those curtains. Could you look at it?"

Momo looked at Saemi as if he just asked her to drink Inui's Akazu for the rest of his life. "Why should I?" he asked halfheartedly. "You go take a look!"

"Because I'm a cameraman and you're a contestant, you idiot!" Saemi yelled so loudly that the single light bulb from the center of the stage suddenly crashed. "Now go look or I'll have you and your team disqualified."

"Hai, hai, Saemi-sama," Momo muttered as he got up the stage. "Geez, you're more ill-tempered than Echizen…"

"I HEARD THAT!"

Momo took a few cautious steps as he approached the curtain. He then looked around. _'Nothing suspicious. Good.' _He started to relax, but when he placed a hand on the curtain, he heard that creaking sound again, causing him to freeze.

"That was me," Saemi said as Momo turned around. Saemi was approaching him through the side stairs, and her every step seemed to make the creaking sound.

Momo sighed in relief. "Don't scare me like that, Saemi-chan…" He grinned. "So that creaking must've been the steps, right?"

Saemi nodded. "But since you're searching for the amulet, you might as well look at there, right?" she said.

That statement sounded believable and reasonable, so Momo agreed, and he opened the curtains…

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!"

Momo stumbled back as the curtains revealed a man covered with a black cloak, and his face glowing, an evil smirk evident on his face.

"It's the Grim Reaper!" Momo screamed, running back to cower behind Saemi. "Saemi-chan, let's get out of here!"

However, Saemi didn't look too affected or afraid at the "Grim Reaper" approaching them.

"SAEMI-CHAN!" Momo cried, this time, more desperately.

Suddenly, Saemi looked at him, and this time, her face looked as frightening as the Grim Reaper's face, causing Momo to back away and fall off the stage.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!! SAEMI-CHAN'S BEEN POSSESSED!!" Momo was about to run away, but the sound of people laughing caused him to stop and look back. Saemi and the "Grim Reaper" were laughing, along with more unfamiliar voices.

"Boy, that was a good one!" Saemi laughed. "Okay, guys, he fell for it! You can all come out now!"

At that instant, five more people emerged from the curtains. And the "Grim Reaper" took off his costume, to reveal…

Momo blinked. "I-Inui-senpai?!" he cried in disbelief.

"Just as I predicted, that there will be a 100 percent chance that Momoshiro will be duped by our small practical joke," Inui Sadaharu said as he turned off the flashlight that he was holding all that time.

Momo frowned as he looked at Inui's teammates, and then his eyes landed on Kaidoh Kaoru, who wasn't laughing, but was looking amused. "Oi, Mamushi, what are you looking so amused about?" he yelled.

"Fsssshhh…" was all Kaidoh said before turning away.

"Oi, Megumi-chan, that was a nice plan," Saemi said to the girl standing beside Manta and holding a camera.

Yamazaki Megumi winked and waved. "I told you it would work!" she said.

"Who's that?" Momo asked.

"Momo-chan, this is Yamazaki Megumi," Saemi said. "She's the cameraman for the Team 4."

"Yamazaki?" Momo blinked. "Are you related to Yamazaki Kasumi-chan?"

"Hai!" Megumi replied. "She's my older sister."

"Ahhh…" Momo nodded in understanding.

"Yay!" Honey suddenly came bouncing next to Inui, holding something that looks like an amulet. "Ii-chan, I found it!"

Inui smiled. "Good," he said. "Well, we'll be seeing you in the finish line, Momoshiro." He turned to his other teammates. "Ikuzo!"

Just as the Team 4 left, Momo looked at Saemi touchily. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR??"

Saemi laughed. "That was just a prank, Momo-chan!" she said. "It's no big deal!"

"Yes it is!" Momo snapped. "They got away with the amulet! Don't you care about winning?"

"Well, I'm only a cameraman, so as long as I get a good footage, I'm fine," Saemi replied in a subdued manner. "And besides, fans of the show are really gonna love this." She patted her video camera proudly.

Suddenly, Anzu's voice spoke up from Momo's walkie talkie. "Momo!" she cried excitedly. "We found the amulet!"

Momo sighed in relief. "That's good," he said. "We'll meet you at the lobby." He looked at Saemi, who was putting up an innocent face. "Let's go."

Just as he and Saemi turned to leave, they heard another eerie sound. "Okay, Saemi-chan, I'm not falling for that again!" he said with irritation.

"Oi, I'm not doing anything!" Saemi snapped.

Momo froze on his tracks. "If you didn't do that, then who did that sound?" he asked.

Momo and Saemi turned around and saw – on the stage – a girl with long black hair and white clothes. It was staring at them threateningly.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" they screamed and ran away, leaving them with one thought in mind.

They were never EVER going to scary theaters ever again.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**ENDNOTES:**

i This was inspired by outSide.castle's _Translate This_.

ii Weird, I know, but I remember hearing it on the radio. I forgot the title of the song, but I know that Sandara Park (one of our celebrities) sang that.

iii _**Multo**_: Filipino for ghost. My mother once told me that MMT is haunted because some people were buried during its construction… I think.

iv _**Kurosaki Ichigo**_: The main character of BLEACH, an anime I have gotten addicted to.

v _**Itako**_: An _itako_ is a traditional Japanese shaman. Traditionally, _itakos_ are blind, but Anna is fully sighted, which means that she's a really strong _itako_. Anna's specialty is channeling spirits.

vi Please bear with my imagination, as I haven't been inside MMT yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I'M BACK!!

**Replies:**

** Klyc: **Thank God you finally registered. Welcome to FanFiction dot net!

** CrazyGirlofManyNames: **I just love scaring Momo. I scared him a lot during my first _Amazing Race_, as a matter of fact.

** Hao is hot: **Actually, Momo-chan's the only guy in the group. That's a big "OUCH" on his part.

** Saemi: **YES! You and Momo-chan have a high amount of reiatsu! Hehehe… And don't worry. I'm in Episode 3 of BLEACH now. I'm sure I can add some of the other characters in the future.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh.

**»»**** THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION ****««**

**»»**** CHAPTER 4 ****««**

**7:28 p.m.**

**Team 4 **(Manta, Inui, Kaidoh, Honey, Neji)

"Don't you think that the joke you played on Team 6 was a bit too mean?" Neji asked, shutting the door of the theater on their way out.

"I only wanted something enjoyable for the show," Yamazaki Megumi said innocently.

"Is it because of that or is it for your own personal amusement?" Manta asked suspiciously.

Megumi grinned mischievously. "Sure!" she said. "Let's go with that, too!"

Inui approached Ichigo and handed him the amulet. "We've completed the task," he said. "What's next?"

Ichigo stuffed the amulet in his pocket. He took out an envelope and handed it to Inui. "Here."

Inui opened the envelope and started to read the clue. _"Head to Taal Volcano and look for a red Route Marker_."

Kaidoh looked a bit appalled. "A… volcano?"

"There's nothing to be worried about, Kaidoh," Inui assured, opening his green notebook. "The volcano hasn't been active for years now, and the chance of it exploding at this moment would be 3.1 percent."

"That's right." Megumi nodded, although she was wondering on where exactly Inui got that information. "Besides, would we really make you go someplace dangerous?"

That statement made perfect sense, so Team 4 decided to change the topic – their mode of transportation.

"The Taal Volcano is in the city of Tagaytay, which is an hour-and-fifteen-minute ride from here if we ride an FX," Inui explained, reading from his notebook. "It's a van that functions as a taxi," he added once he noticed the others' curious stares.

"Ii-chan, what does FX mean?" Honey asked curiously(i).

At that, Inui frowned and closed his notebook. "I have no idea…" he replied.

As Team 4 walked away from the theater, they heard a bloodcurdling scream that caused all of them to jump and turn around.

"That sounded like Momoshiro and Saemi-san," Inui said, adjusting his glasses.

Kaidoh looked at Megumi doubtfully. "Is that your doing, too?" he asked.

"Oi, the Grim Reaper prank was the only prank that I planned!" Megumi said defensively. "I had nothing to do with why they're screaming right now!"

Team 4 remained silent for a moment. "Maybe they saw a real ghost," Manta assumed.

Silence again. Then, they all shook their heads, thinking that Team 6 was pranked by another team, then left.

**»»**** WOOT! ****««**

**9:58 p.m.**

**Team 2 **(Jou, Mokuba, Tezuka, Mori, Naruto)

"I thought you said the ride would only take an hour and fifteen minutes!" Jou yelled.

Kawaguchi Natsumi shrugged uncaringly. "Hey, the ride would only take an hour and fifteen minutes _if_ there wasn't heavy traffic."

The FX ride was exceptionally dreary for Jou. It was very quiet and he wanted to talk to somebody, but Naruto and Mokuba were fast asleep, Natsumi was playing with her Nintendo DS (and she wouldn't share), and – as much as he tried – Mori and Tezuka weren't talking. AT ALL.

Worse, they didn't stop for something to eat, so Jou guessed that if the rumbling in his stomach would ever be an earthquake, any Richter scale would probably be broken.

"Oh, look!" Natsumi cried, causing Mokuba and Naruto to wake up. "We're here!"

They looked out of the window and saw a volcano amidst the darkness. "It's kinda underdeveloped for any normal volcano," Naruto remarked.

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah. But it looks really cool, don't you think?"

The FX stopped and they stepped out. After Tezuka paid the driver, a cool breeze suddenly swept past them.

"I need… my jacket!" Naruto cried, his teeth chattering.

"You didn't bring any jacket, remember?" Jou pointed out.

Suddenly, another FX stopped in front of them, and Team 4 – plus Megumi – stepped out.

"TAKASHI!" Honey squealed. He was about to run forward but unfortunately, Megumi grabbed him.

"You're not supposed to talk to your opponents during the race, Honey-kun," Megumi told him. "Well, unless you're insulting them, then that's fine with me," she added as an afterthought.

Honey sniffed, but he nodded anyway.

"I think we're allowed to talk to each other in this occasion," Tezuka spoke up, causing Jou to almost jump, realizing that Tezuka _actually_ talked.

"Uh… why?" Manta asked.

Tezuka held up their clue, which contained a green circle. "This in an Intersection symbol," he explained, "which means that we can team up with another group."

"Wow…" Jou said in awe. Tezuka actually made use of fifteen words in a sentence!

"Which means that you want us to be impermanent teammates, Tezuka?" Inui asked, smirking.

Tezuka nodded, although his expression was blank. "Precisely."

"YAY!" Honey squealed, running to Mori once more. "TAKASHI! I haven't seen you for a long time!"

Megumi sweat dropped. "It's been only nine hours, Honey-kun," she pointed out.

"Look," Kaidoh said, pointing to the shore. "There's a huge boat we can use to get to the volcano."

They all went to the water's edge, pushed the boat to the water, climbed on, and then Mori and Kaidoh started rowing.

"I'm hungry…" Naruto muttered, rubbing his stomach.

"Me, too…" Jou said feebly, and his rumbling stomach supported his statement.

Megumi opened her bag. She took out a pack of junk food and handed it to Jou. "Here."

Jou looked at the pack. "_Oishi Prawn Crackers_…" he read(ii).

"It's oh-WEE-shee," Megumi corrected. "You're saying the name as if you're talking about the guy from Team 1."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow. Oishi (the junk food) sounds like a pretty unusual name for prawn crackers. Now that he thought about it, Oishi's hairstyle looks similar to the prawn in the pack. But he wouldn't say that out loud, of course…

"Oh, look! I can see Rukia-san from here!" Natsumi cried, waving to a girl by the port.(iii)

"Rukia-san!" Megumi cried as they hopped off the boat. "Did we keep you waiting?"

The girl named Rukia shook her head. "Not really," she replied. "Team 5 just finished the challenge, and to tell the truth, it gave me a lot of enjoyment."

"Baka, I'm forgetting my manners!" Megumi cried. "Guys, this is Kuchiki Rukia. She's Ichigo's friend. You know – the guy from the theater?"

Teams 2 and 4 greeted Rukia, and then she cleared her throat. "I'll now explain the mechanics of this challenge," she said as she went through her bag and pulled out a drawing pad. "This challenge involves the cooperation between two groups. The two groups will tie a rope around them, and they must go through an obstacle course in this volcano without breaking the rope. You must also collect a red, blue, black, and white flag. Any questions?"(iv)

"I have one," Manta spoke up. "Is it really necessary to illustrate the mechanics using teddy bears and bunnies?"

"Well, it makes the explanation more comprehensible, doesn't it?" Rukia said imperturbably.

"Rukia-chan's drawings are kawaii, too," Honey spoke up, making Rukia grin.

"Anyway," Rukia said, handing them a bunch of rope, "organize yourselves and tie this around your waists. Wait for my signal."

Tezuka tied the rope around his waist then handed the rest of the rope to Inui. Inui did the same, and that procedure continued until Manta and Mokuba were tied up as well.

"Man, we're gonna have a troublesome time with us tied up together," Jou remarked.

"Oh, don't worry," Natsumi said. "You'll do fine."

"Are you ready?" Rukia asked, taking out her whistle

Teams 2 and 4 nodded.

"Ready… set…" And Rukia's loud whistle pierced throughout the area as both groups – led by Tezuka and Inui – walked rapidly towards the red flag. Inui quickly grabbed it and they continued to walk rapidly, almost stumbling on a stone on their way.

A few minutes later, they already collected the first three flags. Unfortunately, the white flag couldn't be seen anywhere.

"Oh, great," Jou muttered disconsolately. "Now what do we do?"

Naruto brightened up. "I got it!" He rummaged for something in his pocket, pulled out a white handkerchief and a stick. (No one dared to ask why Naruto had a stick in his pocket.) Then he tied the handkerchief on the stick, making it look like a white flag. "Ta da!"

"Is this even legal?" Kaidoh and Neji asked at the same time.

"Not really," Inui replied. "But the camera crew isn't filming us, so why should we complain?"

Tezuka nodded. He didn't really approve of breaking the rules, but he didn't really want to be in this reality TV show in the first place. It was Fuji _and _Inui's idea. He just wanted everything to get over it.

And so they walked rapidly to the Finish Line where Rukia, Natsumi, and Megumi were waiting.

"We've completed the task," Tezuka said, handing the flags to Rukia.

Rukia looked at the flags circumspectly. "Yeah, everything seems to be in order," she said. She pulled out an envelope and handed it to Tezuka. "Here's your clue."

"'_Head to Boracay,'_" Tezuka read.

Honey brightened up. "Really? Boracay?"

"You've been there, Honey-san?" Manta asked.

"Not really…" Honey replied. "But Takashi and I were supposed to go there next summer."

"Then let's not waste time," Tezuka said. "Let's go."

Rukia watched the Group 2 and Group 4 – plus Megumi and Natsumi – leave the island before looking at the flags again. "I see…" she said to herself. "So they decided to make another flag, huh?" She took out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Kasumi-chan? It's me. It looks like you'll be giving your first penalty."

**»» WOOT! ««**

**9:39 a.m. the next day…**

**Group 3 **(Yugi, Chocolove, Eiji, Tamaki, Sasuke)

The Group 3 was taking a boat ride to the island of Boracay. While there, they were irritated because of Chocolove's jokes and they had no other food to munch on except for Oishi (oh-WEE-shee) Bread Pan, Oishi (oh-WEE-shee) Prawn Crackers, and Oishi (oh-WEE-shee) Pillows. Blame Eiji for buying junk food with a brand name that reminded him of his doubles partner!

"Isn't there anything else to eat besides Oishi (oh-WEE-shee)?" Tamaki asked. He had to admit that his first taste of junk food was very enlivening, but eating the same junk food was making his taste buds numb.

"Hmm…" Nomura Shizuka rummaged through her bag. "As a matter of fact, I have something here other than Oishi (oh-WEE-shee)…"

Yugi and Tamaki brightened up. "Really?"

Shizuka took out another pack of junk food. "Ta da! E-aji Chips with Cheese Dip!"

Everyone sweat dropped, except for Eiji. "That's so cool, nya!" he exclaimed, grabbing the E-aji chips from Shizuka. "There's a pack of junk food named after me, too!"

"Actually it's E-aji, not Eiji," Shizuka said. "But it's close enough."

The boat finally reached the shore and they climbed out just in time to find the Amazing Race flag nearby with Kasumi and the other groups already standing there.

"Aw, we're last place?" Chocolove groaned as they approached Kasumi.

"Technically, yeah," Kasumi replied. "But, unfortunately, the Team 7 just withdrew from the competition because Seto-san had to be rushed to the hospital."

"The cuisine wasn't that bad," Lee piped up. "Maybe he was just being over-the-top about it."

"Even so, Seto-san filed a form of withdrawal from the competition, so we have nothing to do about it," Kasumi said. "So that still leaves you in last place."

"Aww…" Chocolove said sorrowfully.

"BUT!" Kasumi cried, causing the groups and the camera girls to jump. "Our secret cameras in the Taal Volcano have just witnessed a violation of the rules!"

Teams 2 and 4 gulped as a spotlight suddenly focused on them.

"These groups," Kasumi continued, "has made a makeshift item for them to continue with the race. And do you know what happens to those who break that certain rule?"

Everyone remained silent before Kasumi continued. "It's a one hour penalty, which means that Team 4 is in last place, and Team 2 is in fifth place."

Teams 2 and 4 just stood there and didn't complain – they deserved it, after all.

"So, it's reward time," Kasumi said. "For a day, you're going to have a day of relaxation here in Boracay!"

"Yay!" Eiji and Tamaki cried at the same time, hugging each other.

"You'll all be staying in Casa Camilla," Kasumi explained. "After the relaxation is over, the team in first place – Team 5 – will head at this exact same spot two days later at exactly 9:39 a.m. So, have fun!"

**»» WOOT! ««**

**ENDNOTES:**

i I have no idea what FX means either.

ii Ah, the Oishi Prawn Crackers… Pretty coincidental, isn't it? Actually, there's another junk food in the Philippines called E-aji, and I started to think, "Ooh! Oishi and E-aji! It's like the Golden Pair! Only it's junk food… Hey! Maybe we should call it 'The Golden Pair Junk Food!'" Excuse my randomness…

iii Kuchiki Rukia is another character from _Bleach_. She has a habit of drawing bunnies to explain or illustrate a situation.

iv This was inspired by the Amazing Race activity that the clubs in our school did – as luck would have it – Fort Santiago. Note: We won second place!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I'm back! Sorry if I took such a long time to update. I've been busy with school and all. But don't worry. I've graduated from high school, it's summer vacation, and I've got a lot of time to update!

**Replies:**

** CrazyGirlofManyNames: **Yeah. Too bad he filed a withdrawal, ne? But you never know…

** Hao is hot: **Yeah, I wanted to start the punishment-reward part, and most of them just got forced into joining the show… so… you get the point.

** Dazed Dreamer: **Pillows and Milo? Never tried that, but it sounds good. Now my stomach's grumbling, too…

** singer in the wind: **Thanks! You should watch the other shows, too. They're good!

** Fen-Fen-DaisukeYo: **I'm glad there are many Filipinos who read and reviewed my fic. Thanks for your support!

** Azure: **E-aji is yummy… LET'S GO EAT E-AJI! LOL.

** aspiringNBIinvestigator: **Thanks for the explanation!

**Disclaimer: **See previous chapters.

»» **THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION** ««

»» **CHAPTER 5** ««

**10:30 a.m., Philippine General Hospital**

Meanwhile, while the other teams were having fun – save for Teams 2 and 4 – Team 7 was waiting in the hospital lobby for their ride to come pick them up and drop them off to the airport.

"Come on, Seto-san," Kawamura pleaded. "Can you take back that withdrawal statement that you sent to the production staff?"

"Yeah," Hikaru agreed. "Unlike you, some of us actually want to join this show."

Kawamura and Yoh nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

Ryoma glared at them. "Count me – OW!" He rubbed his head just as Hikaru hit him. "I mean… yeah… whatever they said."

Seto, however, shook his head with certainty. "The decision is final," he said. "We have no choice but to go back to Japan. Any questions?"

"I have one!" Yoh piped up, raising his hand.

"What?!" Seto snapped furiously. He wasn't really expecting anyone to ask any questions.

"I was wondering…" Yoh began, not receding from Seto's irritability. "Why did you join the show if you're not even interested?"

"Yeah…" Hikaru, Kawamura, and Yoh said at the same time, the question arousing their interest.

Seto sighed. "It was all Mokuba's fault…" His voice was low, but loud enough for Hikaru to hear.

Suddenly, Hikaru smirked, an idea popping into his head. "Okay…" he said, standing up. "Well, since the ride won't come in a moment, I'll go get some drinks. Does anyone want one?"

"Me!" Yoh piped up ecstatically. "I want a Coke!"

"Just get me a Royal True Grape," Ryoma said unsympathetically.

Kawamura stood up as well. "Um… I'll go with you," he told Hikaru. "I'm not sure what to get."

Hikaru grinned. "Great!" he said. "Let's go, Taka-san!" He and Kawamura headed to the hallway on the right, where the vending machines are located.

"Hikaru-kun is up to something, isn't he?" Yoh asked when Hikaru and Kawamura were out of earshot.

Ryoma nodded. "Definitely."

»» **WOOT!** ««

Meanwhile, Hikaru and Kawamura stopped in the hospital hallway, where two vending machines were located.

Kawamura looked around with reservation, making sure that no one but them was around. "Anou… Hikaru-san…" he said timidly. "What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Shh!" Hikaru said, taking out his cell phone. "I have a plan to get us back on the show." Then, he dialed a number that his Honey-senpai cheerfully gave him.

After a few rings, the other line picked up, and Hikaru lightened up when he heard Mokuba's voice. "Moshi-moshi? Kaiba Mokuba speaking."

"Oh, good, Mokuba, it's you!" Hikaru said, grinning.

"Hikaru-niichan?!" Mokuba said in a mixture of happiness and incredulity. "Where are you? How's my brother? Is he really sick? I heard – "

"Calm down, Mokuba, your brother's okay," Hikaru assured. "It's just an upset stomach. We won't be coming back to the show, though."

"Huh?" Mokuba's voice was now skeptical. "Why not?"

"Well, your brother filed a withdrawal statement, so we're going home the moment our ride arrives," Hikaru explained.

"Aww…" Mokuba said woefully. "Isn't there a way to change nii-sama's mind?"

Hikaru smirked, knowing that calling Mokuba was such a great idea. "Well, I _do _have an idea…"

»» **WOOT!** ««

It took five minutes for Hikaru and Kawamura to head back to the lobby. "Okay, here are your drinks," Hikaru said happily. Once the drinks were handed, he flopped down a chair and opened his Coke can. "Man, I wish the ride would come soon. I'm bored. I wish something eventful would happen this instant."

Suddenly, as if on cue, Seto's phone rang. Seto picked up his phone while Yoh and Ryoma stared at Hikaru, their expressions reading "_What the heck did you just do?_" Hikaru returned their expression with an expression reading "_Wait and see…_"

"Kaiba Seto here. What do you want?"

"Nii-sama!" they could hear Mokuba's voice cry from the other line. "It's you!"

Seto's expression became softer. "Mokuba…" he said. "It's you…"

"What happened?" Mokuba asked in distress. "Kasumi-chan told some reporter guy who told Mitsu-niichan who told Taka-niichan who told me that you were rushed to the hospital! Is that true?"

Seto sweat dropped – does word really get around so quickly? But he regained his calmness. "Yeah, but it's just an upset stomach," he replied. "Anyway, I won't be coming back to the show. I filed a withdrawal statement. I'll be going back to Japan."

"What??" Mokuba's voice was so loud that Seto had to remove the phone from his ear for a few seconds. "But you can't quit, nii-sama! Whatever happened to your 'I'll never give up even if it kills me' motto?"

A vein popped in Seto's head. "Mokuba…" he said. "That motto is only applied to business and Duel Monsters. So far, I am not in the position of business _and/or _Duel Monsters!"

Mokuba sighed in defeat. "Oh well…" he said. "If that's what nii-sama wants…"

"Hurry up, Mokuba!" Seto suddenly heard Jou's voice yell. "Those guys will be getting ahead of us!"

"Ha-Hai, Jou-niichan!" Mokuba said.

"Mokuba, what are you doing with Katsuya?" Seto asked warily. Katsuya plus his brother is equals to trouble.

"Oh, we're motorbiking," Mokuba explained calmly. "Some guys challenged us to an extreme-sport race, and so far, we're winning!"

"If you're talking on the phone in this rate, we won't!" Jou yelled. "Now hurry up, Mokuba! The bungee-jumping challenge is next!"

Seto gulped, several scenarios flashing in his mind. "Bungee… jumping?"

He could hear Mokuba start his engine (although he didn't hang up the phone), followed by a "plunk" sound. "Ah!!" Mokuba cried. "Jou-niichan, my helmet fell off!"

"Just leave it there!" Jou said composedly. "What are the chances of you falling into a ravine and crashing down to your death, anyway?"

At that instant, the vein in Seto's head popped as he stood up and slammed his fist on the coffee table. "KATSUYA!!" he cried, causing others to stare at him. "If anything happens to my brother, I'm charging second-degree murder on you!!"

"Chill, Kaiba," Jou said with indifference. "Nothing's gonna happen to – Mokuba, look out!!"

There was a sound of swerves, followed by Mokuba's scream. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

There was a sound of a crush, and then the line was cut.

A few seconds later, Kawamura looked at Seto. "Seto-san… are you okay…?" he asked frantically. "You look pale…"

Seto didn't reply, but instead, dialed a number in his cell phone. "Is this Yamazaki Kasumi? This is Kaiba Seto. I've changed my mind. Our group will be heading there in a minute."

Yoh and Hikaru secretly high-fived each other.

Ryoma just shook his head. "Man, are you desperate," he said, sipping his drink.

A few minutes later, the limo arrived, and they sped away to the airport, heading directly to Boracay.

»» **WOOT!** ««

10:45 a.m.

Meanwhile, Groups 2 and 4 were inside the lobby of _Casa Camilla_, waiting for Kasumi and the rest of the production staff to arrive. So far, they were fifteen minutes late.

"I wonder what's keeping them so long," Neji said, sweat dropping at Jou, who was literally rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter after making a prank call to Kaiba Seto.

"Never mind that," Kaidoh said. "I'm more worried about our punishment."

Inui nodded, opening his green notebook. "According to my data, there is a 26 percent chance that we will be forced to be buried in the sand and be left there until we get sunburned," he read. "There's also a 74 percent chance that we will be forced to be covered in mud and forbidden to wash off until after two days."

Manta gulped. "Your data seems… off…" he remarked.

"My data is never wrong," Inui said rigorously.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Kasumi and the production staff entered. "Sorry we're late," Kasumi said. "We just received an urgent phone call from Kaiba Seto and his team."

Everyone stared at Mokuba and Jou, but they put on an innocent face. "Did something happen to nii-sama?" Mokuba asked.

"He called because he wanted to change his mind about pulling out from the show," Kasumi replied. "And for some reason… he sounded… how should I put it?... murderous…"

Jou gulped, knowing that he's going to be the victim of Seto's rage.

"But enough of that," Kasumi said, putting her hands together. "Let's talk about your punishment! You're going to be our P.A.s!"

"What's a P.A.?" Naruto asked, _seriously _not knowing what a P.A. means.

"It means 'personal assistant'," Inui explained. "It means people who give way to other peoples' every whim."

"That's right!" Kasumi said merrily.

"So we're not gonna be buried in the sand or be covered in mud?" Honey asked.

Kasumi and the production staff stared at Honey. "No," Saemi replied. "Who or what gave you that idea?"

Honey pointed to Inui. "Ii-chan told us it was possible," he said.

Inui grinned awkwardly as everyone raised their eyebrows at him. "I was just recording your reactions," he replied.

"Whatever," Kim said. "Anyway…" She took out a jar filled with a few pieces of paper. "Everyone, pick out a piece of paper. The name you picked will be your master for two days."

After picking out names from the jar, Teams 2 and 4 went to their respective "masters" and dispersed.

And here are the results, for those who are curious:

Yamazaki Kasumi – Tezuka Kunimitsu

Takayama Kim – Inui Sadaharu

Kawaguchi Natsumi – Oyamada Manta

Nomura Shizuka – Hyuuga Neji

Yamazaki Megumi – Haninozuka Mitsukuni

Igarashi Siopee – Uzumaki Naruto

Shiomi Saemi – Kaidoh Kaoru

Hayata Rina – Kaiba Mokuba

Kurosaki Ichigo – Morinozuka Takashi

Kuchiki Rukia – Katsuya Jounouchi

»» **WOOT!** ««

12:00 p.m.

"_Target: Yamazaki Kasumi and Tezuka Kunimitsu… Time: 12:00 p.m…. Activity: Tennis lessons…"_

"Natsumi-san, what are you doing?" Manta asked as he stared at his chief, who was examining Kasumi and her P.A. through a hill, binoculars in one hand and a tape recorder on the other hand.

"I'm keeping an eye on the production staff and what their activities are with their P.A.s," Natsumi replied, switching off her tape recorder. "I'm the one in charge of the documents and written reports, too, you know."

"So, it's like data gathering…" Manta replied, being reminded of a certain someone named Inui Sadaharu. "But why do we have to keep them in check a few miles away from them?"

Natsumi grinned. "Because I wanna test out these new binoculars that I bought!" she replied, holding out her binoculars. "You can see someone from a distance as if you're just a few meters away from them! It's so cool!"

Manta sweat dropped. "Yeah, whatever…"

"But since you're not doing anything…" Natsumi rummaged through her bag and took out a stack of folders. "Be a good P.A. and sort these out, will you?"

Manta sighed. "Yeah, sure, whatever…"

"Now about Kim-chan and Inui-san…" Natsumi grinned evilly as she started her observations.

»» **WOOT!** ««

12:30 p.m.

"Oi, Naruto," Siopee said, causing Naruto to nearly bump into Kaidoh. Kaidoh glared at the ninja, since he was carrying some shopping bags for Saemi on her shopping spree on random stuff.

She handed Naruto some money. "Could you get me something to drink?" she requested. "A can of Coke can do."

"Why me?" Naruto groaned.

WHACK!

Siopee placed her paper fan back in her pocket. "You're my P.A.. I'm your master. Do the math," she said as if she was explaining to a six-year-old. "On second thought, bring me two cans of Coke. Saemi-chan here is pretty thirsty from her shopping spree."

Naruto mumbled something beyond their understanding and left, leaving Siopee and Saemi to giggle. Kaidoh looked at them, completely mystified.

"Man, I love this punishment!" Saemi said as she and Siopee high-fived each other.

"I know," Saemi said. "So… what's next on my shopping list…?"

"Saemi-chan, you don't have a shopping list," Siopee pointed out. "And what are these random stuff for, anyway?" She pointed to the shopping bags that Kaidoh was holding.

Saemi shrugged. "I just felt like buying them, that's all," she replied.

"Doesn't your credit card have a limit?" Kaidoh couldn't help but ask.

Saemi shrugged again. "I don't know," she replied, causing Siopee and Kaidoh to sweat drop.

Naruto finally returned with two cans of Coke. "Here are your drinks," he mumbled dejectedly, handing the girls their drinks.

"I'm hungry," Saemi said. "Let's go to the Steakhouse for lunch."

"Na, it's too expensive," Siopee said. "How about some burgers over there?" She pointed to a nearby fast food restaurant.

Before Saemi could reply, her cell phone rang.

_moshi atashi ga houkiboshi ni nareta naraba_

_sora kakenuke tonde iku, donna _

_ashita ga kite mo ko no omoi wa tsuyoi_

_dakara houkiboshi zutto kowarenai yo _(i)

"Moshi-moshi?" Saemi said once she picked up her phone. "Ah, Megumi-chan! Where are you… Uh-huh… Okay, we don't mind… See you there… Ja!"

"What did Megumi-chan say?" Siopee asked.

"She said that she's shopping for her dog(ii) with Honey-kun nearby," Saemi said. "They're stopping by at Red Ribbon(iii) for lunch and she's asking us to come."

Siopee sweat dropped. "Megumi-chan likes cakes and anything cute… Hmm… Is it by coincidence that she got Honey-kun as her P.A.?"

The two camera girls just shrugged and headed to the said bake shop along with their P.A.s.

»» **WOOT!** ««

2:30 p.m.

"Man, I hate this punishment…" Jou muttered as he returned to the beach, along with a plastic bag full of food. He sat beside Mori as they watched Rukia and Ichigo argue. It seemed that it was Rukia's first time out on the beach, and she was enthralled in studying the anatomy of a surfboard.

"So what are you supposed to do with this?" Rukia asked, holding up the surfboard to her head.

"I'm telling you, you use that to surf!" Ichigo yelled, numerous veins appearing in his head.

"Well, _how _do you surf?"

"You wait for a really big wave, and then you stand on your surfboard, and then you just get carried by the wave! It's hard to explain, you know!"

"It's like she's not even from this world," Jou muttered.

Mori just watched them. Ichigo really didn't want the P.A. punishment, so he couldn't think of anything so he can order Mori around.

Suddenly, their fight was interrupted when Rukia's cell phone beeped. Rukia instantly rushed to her duffel bag and took out her cell phone.

"Ichigo! We got orders!"

Ichigo groaned – not when he's having a vacation… "Where is it now?" he asked, ignoring the confused look he was getting from Jou.

"It's somewhere near the hill over there!" Rukia pointed to a nearby hill where Natsumi was recording her observations.

"Hey, aren't Natsumi-san and Manta-kun there?" Jou said.

"They are?" Ichigo said, eyes widening. "Oh – (this word is censored)"

"Hey, this is a family-friendly show!" Jou cried, but Ichigo and Rukia hurried off without offering an explanation. "Can you believe them? I told you – it's like they're not even from this world!"

»» **WOOT!** ««

"I sense something…"

Momo and his other teammates stopped from their beach volleyball game and looked at Anna, who was refereeing the game. "Eh? What do you mean?"

Anna wasn't able to reply. Something wasn't quite right… She couldn't sense a powerful presence somewhere… but it wasn't a shaman or a spirit…

Suddenly, Anzu spotted Rukia and Ichigo running frantically off the beach. "Hmm… I wonder… is there an emergency?" she asked.

"Anna-chan…" Haruhi said as Anna got off her chair. "Where are you going?"

"I need to finish something off," Anna replied. She needed to find her other friends… and fast.

"So what kind of Hollow is it?" Ichigo asked as they ran up the hill.

Rukia looked at her cellphone. "Not Hollow (iv)… _Hollows_…" she replied. "Three of them, in fact…"

Ichigo groaned again. "Darn it. I'm gonna eradicate them for ruining my vacation!"

"AAAAAHHHHH!!"

Ichigo and Rukia stopped just in time to see three Hollows confronting Natsumi – who seemed to be asleep – and Manta.

Manta gulped. Although he can see spirits, it's the first time he can see those creatures. Too bad he wasn't a shaman… Then he saw Ichigo and Rukia from behind the Hollows. "Ichigo-san!! Rukia-san!! Tasukete!!"

That, as a result, made the Hollows turn their attention to Ichigo and Rukia.

"Ready?" Rukia asked, putting on a glove.

"Do you really have to ask?" Ichigo said, frowning.

WHAM!

Manta wasn't able to comprehend what just happened. All he saw was Rukia punching Ichigo on the face… and all of a sudden, he saw two Ichigos. One was lying on the ground, unconscious, while the other was wearing an entirely different outfit – a black hakama, in particular – and was holding a sword.

'_What in the name of everything supernatural is going on?'_

Before Ichigo could even take a step to attack the Hollow, one out of three of them suddenly disappeared. Before they knew it, Ren and Horo Horo were giving victory poses.

"Ren-kun! Horo-kun!" Manta cried happily.

"What are these things?" Horo Horo asked, staring at the Hollows.

"They're Hollows," Rukia replied. "They're deceased human souls to remain in the real world for too long."

"Rukia-san?! Ichigo-san?!" Horo and Ren exclaimed. "You two can see these things?!"

"That's because they're shinigamis," Anna replied, suddenly popping out of nowhere. "Or at least… one of them is…"

"Eh? How did you know?" Ichigo asked, at a complete loss.

"I'm an _itako_," Anna replied simply. "I _should _know these things."

"No time for explanation," Rukia said. "We gotta defeat these Hollows and hurry!"

»» **WOOT!** ««

"What's keeping them so long?" Jou muttered as he finished eating the last of the Snicker bars.

Mori looked out on the beach, saying nothing.

"I mean…" Jou took out some juice. "I knew that Rukia-san is pretty odd, but does she really have to run off with Ichigo-san without offering us explanation? And what does she mean by 'orders'?"

Mori was still silent. Jou sighed, getting the impression that he's just talking to himself.

"Ah, I get it!" Jou cried, snapping his fingers. "Maybe Rukia-san and Ichigo-san are on a date!"

WHAM!

The next thing that Jou knew that his face was on the sand and that Rukia's foot was on his head. "Baka," Rukia said. "Don't talk about your master or spread rumors about them."

"Mmmph… Hai…" Jou muttered, spitting out sand. "So where did the two of you go?"

"We went to Kasumi," Ichigo replied. "It seemed that her 'orders' meant watching a tennis match between her and Tezuka."

Rukia smiled shrewdly at Ichigo. "And Kasumi-san seemed to suck at it, too," she remarked. "Anyway, where's my food, Katsuya?"

Truth was, they had a "Hollow" situation to take care of. They weren't that strong, but it was a big help when Ren and Horo Horo – whom they discovered as shamans – came to help.

Jou gulped as he unsuccessfully tried to hide the plastic bag that _was _full of food hours ago. Rukia saw it and raised an angry eyebrow at Jou.

"Now what am I to do with you…?"

"P-Please…" Jou pleaded, creeping away from the approaching Rukia. "Have mercy on me…"

All the people in the beach then looked up as they heard Jou's bloodcurdling scream.

»» **WOOT!** ««

4:00 p.m.

A few hours later, all the people in Boracay looked up again as they heard Kaiba Seto scream furiously.

"WHAAAATTT??"

"Hey, calm down, Seto-san," Kawamura said. Seto eventually found out that Mokuba was okay, and that everything was a plan to get his group back on the show. Seto, as expected, wasn't pleased.

Seto turned to Hikaru. "Is this your doing?" he asked askance.

Hikaru put up an innocent face. "Now, Seto-kun, what made you think I would do such a thing…?"

Everyone in Team 7 snorted.

"Well, I guess that settles it!" Kasumi said, putting their hands together. "Team 7 is back on the show, and there will be no more changes!"

"Bu-But – " Seto said. "I was tricked!"

"Well, you called of your own accord, so the decision is final," Kasumi said. "We'll see you back in action in two days time. As of tomorrow, enjoy your stay in the beach!"

As Kasumi left, Seto glared at Hikaru. "I'll get you for this sometime…" he said threateningly.

Hikaru grinned, hands on his head. "Whatever you say…" There's a low probability of him getting killed by Seto, anyway. He's just too quick.

»» **WOOT!** ««

**ENDNOTES**

i Lyrics from "Houkiboshi," an ending song from BLEACH.

ii Request by my sister, since she's _completely_ addicted to dogs.

iii Red Ribbon is a bakeshop in the Philippines. They make the best caes!

iv **Hollows **are former deceased human souls that lose their hearts to misery or remain in the real world far too long. They are also spirits not guided to Soul Society (corresponds heaven in Bleach) by a shinigami (Death God). You should watch _BLEACH _for a clearer explanation.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I'm back! Sorry it took so long for me to update. Writer's block easily gets to me during summer break.

**Replies:**

** CrazyGirlofManyNames: **Hehehe… Got you there, didn't I?

** Hao is hot: **Actually, a Hollow can be pretty dangerous at times. And it doesn't take the form of a ghost. It takes the form of a… erm… something resembling a monster.

** nekosaru: **Thanks!

** Klyc: **Since I got Saemi, Siopee, and my sister to pick, I settled you for Inui, since I know you love Prince of Tennis as much as I do. :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh.

Sorry if it's so short… it's already late at night, and I'm only including two challenges per chapter. Oh well, three more challenges to go.

And I'm currently addicted to BLEACH, so don't be surprised if more BLEACH characters are popping up. I'm also addicted to **La Corda D'Oro **(the guy named Hihara was voiced by Masakazu Morita, who also voiced Ichigo!) lately. I wanted to include the characters, too, but it'll be hard since they're music-based… but I'll try…

»» **THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION** ««

»» **CHAPTER 6** ««

**9:39 a.m., two days later…**

**Boracay shores**

**Team 5 **(Kyouya, Fuji, Honda, Horo Horo, Lee)

Siopee's watch beeped at exactly 9:39 a.m. She turned on her camera and directed it at her assigned group. "Okay, the race has started," she declared. "You guys can now open the Route Marker."

Fuji, who was near the Route Marker, opened it and took out the envelope, which contained 5,000 in cash ("Australian dollars," Kyouya pointed out.) and their clue. "_'Head to Howard Springs in Darwin, Australia'_," he read. "_'Once there, look for Inoue Orihime.'_"

"Inoue… Orihime…?" Horo Horo said pensively. Suddenly, he perked up. "Hey, isn't she that cute girl always hanging out with Kurosaki and Kuchiki?"

"Uh… sure… whatever you say…" Siopee replied. "Anyway, she's a classmate of Ichigo and Rukia-chan."

"Are a good number of the production staff friends of Kurosaki and Kuchiki?" Kyouya wanted to know.

"Uh-huh," Siopee replied, nodding. "It's kinda strange when Rukia-chan seemed to be always signing her friends up to be a staff… it's probably because they've got nothing to do back in Japan… but then… it's probably a gimmick or something… or maybe they're just a mutually dependent group of friends…"

"Well, can we save the guessing for later?" Honda suggested. "I can see Mai's group already coming over here!"

"Hmm… you're right," Siopee said, squinting to find the Group 1 approaching the Route Marker. "Let's go, then!"

»» **WOOT!** ««

**2:24 p.m.**

**Darwin Airport…**

**Team 3 **(Yugi, Chocolove, Eiji, Tamaki, Sasuke)

"Man, is it hot in here!" Chocolove cried, shielding his eyes from the scorching sun as they stepped out of the airport.

"It's not that hot here," Tamaki remarked as Yugi stepped out to look for a taxi. "At least, today isn't too hot compared to last January – it was blazing!" (i)

"So you've been to Darwin before, nya?" Eiji wanted to know, although the answer was pretty clear.

Tamaki nodded. "Yup," he replied. "We went wreck-diving last January. It was our field trip in Ouran Academy… I think."

Eiji blinked rapidly. "You have field trips in different countries?" he cried in disbelief, suddenly pouting. Now why doesn't Seigaku have field trips abroad? He'd wanted to go to China so badly…

Before Eiji could mope furthermore, Yugi came back. "Okay, guys, we have a ride," he announced pleasantly.

»» **WOOT!** ««

**3:45 p.m.**

**Howard Springs, Darwin**

**Team 1 **(Mai, Ren, Oishi, Kaoru, Hinata)

"For a moment, I thought Howard Springs really _was _a spring," Ren remarked as they stepped out of the cab and they took in the view of their surroundings.

"Howard Springs is actually a nature park," Kim explained. "Australia is full of nature parks, so we thought we'd introduce you to one of them. Hey, look, isn't that Siopee-chan's group?"

Team 1 looked at where Kim was pointing, and soon enough, they saw Team 5 heading out the nature park, all of them looking sodden. "Maybe they went swimming?" Kaoru suggested, waving to Kyouya, who only gave a nod in reply.

Kim grinned. "You'll see…" she said cagily.

Team 1 walked further into the park until they spotted Orihime near a swamp, sitting beside a Route Marker, eating what looks like red bean paste. "Orihime-chan!" Kim cried joyfully, waving to the said girl.

Orihime looked up and grinned, waving as well. "Konnichiwa, Kim-chan!" she greeted. "You're just in time. I just opened up a can of red bean paste. Want some?" She handed the can to Kim. (ii)

Kim grinned hesitantly, shaking her head. "Uh… I think I'll pass…" she said. "I just ate at the plane…"

"Oh," Orihime said. "Well, let's start the challenge, then." She handed Mai a black plastic bag. "Here are your swimming suits."

Mai opened the bag and peered at the contents curiously. "So, what are we supposed to do besides swim?" she asked.

"Oh, it's easy," Orihime said gleefully. "See that Route Marker over there?" She pointed to the said Route Marker. "It has a lock in there, and the key is lost in a shipwreck somewhere down there." She pointed to the swamp. "So you have to find the key to open the Route Marker that contains your next clue. Only one member at a time can swim to retrieve the key."

"If that's the case," Oishi said, stepping up, "I'll go first."

The others consented, knowing that Oishi was a good swimmer. They watched him as he put on his swimming suit, then dive down at the swamp.

"Hey, Mai!"

Mai jumped and turned around, only to see Yugi and his group mates standing there with ice cream on their hands. "Yugi, don't startle me like that!" she snapped.

"Sorry about that," Yugi said, grinning sheepishly. "Did Eiji-kun resurface already?"

"Eiji?" Kaoru blinked, trying to recall the name. "If you mean the hyperactive guy with a band-aid on his cheek, then no. We haven't seen him yet."

As if on cue, they heard someone resurface from the swamp. It was Kikumaru, and he leapt up and ran towards Yugi, bouncing up and down. "Nya, Yugi, I saw the creepiest thing! While I was getting out of the water, I saw some huge fish swimming towards me!"

"That must be your imagination, Eiji," Tamaki said, feeling amazed at how commoners managed to store their ice cream in a container that isn't glass. "There aren't any huge fish in the swamps."

"Hey, maybe you saw Oishi swimming towards the wreck," Ren joked. Nobody bothered to laugh because it was Ren's first time making a joke, and it wasn't funny.

As if on cue, Oishi resurfaced out of the water, holding up the key. "I got it!" he cried as he took off his goggles.

Eiji blinked. "Maybe it was my imagination, nya…" he mumbled, embarrassed to admit that the murky swamp obscured his imagination, thus mistaking Oishi for a huge fish.

"So where's the key?" Sasuke asked as Oishi and his group mates went to the Route Marker to open the lock.

"Nya?" Eiji cocked his head to one side, and then he suddenly remembered. "Oh no! I completely forgot!"

"You WHAT?!" his group mates cried in disbelief at the same time, because that's what group mates do when one commits a very big mistake.

"Uh… You see…" Kikumaru stuttered, trying to shy away from the dirty looks his group mates were giving him. "When I saw that huge fish… I thought it was gonna attack me… so I ran for my life…"

"Never mind," Sasuke grumbled, stepping up. "I'll go so we can get this thing over with."

"Uh, Eiji, we gotta go," Oishi said as he and his group got ready to go. "It's okay," he said, patting his miserable partner on the shoulder. "You'll catch up to us next time."

That seemed to cheer Eiji up. "Okay!"

"What does the clue say?" Hinata asked as they left the nature park.

Oishi opened the envelope and took out the clue. "It says here that we have to head to Cable Beach in Kimberley," he said once he was done reading.

"Cable Beach?" Mai repeated, hailing for a taxi before heaving a sigh. "I hope they don't let us get to anything too difficult."

»» **WOOT!** ««

**6:05 p.m.**

**Teams 7 **(Seto, Yoh, Kawamura, Ryoma, Hikaru)

"Aw, darn it, we didn't get here first," Yoh groaned as they headed to the Route Marker, only to find Teams 5, 4, 1, and 3 already there, looking busy with something. Team 7 headed to a guy with black hair and glasses, who seemed to be reading a book about sewing while standing next to the Route Marker. (iii)

"Oi, Ishida-kun," Rina piped up to get the teen's attention.

At that instant, Ishida looked up from his reading, closed his book, adjusted his glasses, and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that," he said. "Uh… Team 7, right?"

Ryoma looked at Ishida with an expression that says, "Duh!"

"Right," Ishida said, adjusting his glasses once again. "This time, you're going to be exposed to Australian's aboriginal art by creating an aboriginal art yourself."

Seto made a barely audible grunt.

"So, since you're Team 7…" Ishida glanced over the list given to him. "You're going to create a dot painting. You have to create an image of any kind of theme that you like. You can use the materials over there." He pointed to a stand that Rukia was managing.

"Isn't aboriginal art like dot paintings supposed to be placed in tree bark or something like that?" Kawamura asked, remembering something that he watched in the Discovery Channel.

"We'd love to, but we can't," Ishida replied. "Studies show that bark removal can often kill a tree and that it can only be carried out six months every year."

"Oh."

"Well, yeah, so get started." After that, Ishida returned to reading his book.

Hikaru approached the stand. "Hey, Rukia-chan!" he greeted pleasantly.

Rukia looked up and grinned. "Dot paintings, am I right?" she said, handing him the materials. "Once you're done, you can show it to Ishida over there."

"Thanks." Hikaru gave her a thumbs-up and skipped away to his group mates. Their group went to find a long table, and ended up taking a seat beside Team 5.

"Ah, Fuji," Kawamura greeted good-humoredly. "What are you guys doing over there?"

Fuji set down his carving knife and smiled. "We're doing some clap sticks," he replied. "Ishida-san told us that it will be judged by its appearance and the sound it produces. Although I'm not so sure about the latter part…"

"Ow!" Horo Horo suddenly cried. "I think I must've cut my fingers!" He looked at his right hand, where there was a small cut. Blood suddenly oozed out of it, and the next thing they knew, he fainted.

Fuji chuckled when he heard Kyouya say, "Such a baby" in a very hushed tone and continued with his work. "Ah, it seems that I'm almost done," he said blithely. "Where's the paint?"

"Here," Honda said, handing Fuji the paint. "You go finish up, while I'll use my clap stick to whack this guy awake." With that, he stood up and heaved Horo Horo near the shore.

"So we're just gonna make something out of dots, right?" Yoh said, heaving a sigh of relief. He never thought that art would be this easy.

"And if you're thinking about Connect-the-Dots, it's a complete no," Ryoma said frankly, causing Yoh to sigh and start to think of more ideas.

"What's our theme, anyway?" Kawamura asked.

Ryoma shrugged. "I don't know… tennis?" he suggested.

Kawamura sweat dropped. "Is that all you think about, Echizen?" he asked.

"How about food?" Yoh suggested.

"Definitely not," Seto snapped. "Let's just paint about the scenery or something."

"Common…" Hikaru said. "But hey… it's effortless… Let's start!"

Meanwhile, Team 4 was done, and Inui approached Ishida with their finished work, the boomerang. "I believe that we're finished," he told Ishida.

Ishida looked up. "Is it a returning boomerang?" he asked.

"I think so," Inui said, assertive that he has the data to back it up. "Do we have to demonstrate?"

Ishida nodded.

Inui did a stance that reminded Kaidoh of someone striking a ball. He threw the boomerang in the air, and unfortunately, no boomerang returned to him.

"I guess that boomerang was a non-returning one," Manta remarked, stating the obvious.

"But… my data…" Inui muttered, opening his notes. "I can assure you… it's a returning boomerang…"

"Okay, guys, he's awake!" Honda cried proudly as he returned to his group's table with Horo Horo.

"Yeah, and I could've sworn I saw my life flash before my eyes when I saw myself bleeding," Horo Horo said, rubbing the back of his head. "And for some unknown reason… I was actually missing Ren…"

Suddenly, there was the sound of a BAM! and Horo Horo was unconscious once again.

"Inui, I think this belongs to you!" Fuji cried, handing the boomerang to Inui.

Inui looked joyful. "Well, I guess this _is _a returning boomerang with a speed of 120 miles per hour," he said, handing the boomerang to Ishida.

Ishida sighed. "Fine, here's your clue," he said, handing Inui the envelope.

"Ne, he, Ii-chan, can I read it?" Honey asked, tugging Inui's shirt. Even though he's 18, Honey and Inui have quite a height difference.

Inui handed Honey the envelope and Honey took out the clue. "_'Head to Victoria Harbor,'_" he read.

"Well, we better go then," Inui said.

As Team 4 left, Ishida felt someone tapping his shoulder. He looked and saw Rukia standing beside him. "Ah, Kuchiki-san, what's the matter?" he asked.

"What do you think of this?" Rukia asked, revealing her own dot paintings of – what else? – Chappy the Bunny. "It's Chappy the Bunny fighting all the forces of evil in this world!"

Ishida sweat dropped, but decided to say nice things about Rukia's illustrations. He never wanted to end up like Ichigo whenever he insults Kuchiki Rukia. (iv)

»» **WOOT!** ««

**ENDNOTES:**

i _**Weather in Darwin**_ has two seasons: tropical summer in November to March, and tropical winter in May and October. It's warm all-year round, but summer is wetter and winter is dry.

ii _**Inoue Orihime**_: a character in BLEACH who has a liking for strange food, her favorite being red bean paste.

iii _**Ishida Uryuu:**_ another character in BLEACH who is a member of the sewing club in his school. He tends to go to extremes when he's sewing or patching up a stuffed toy. TRIVIA: Ishida's seiyuu is also Sasuke's seiyuu!

iv This was already shown in Chapter 4, but let me explain again. Rukia likes Chappy the Bunny or anything related to bunnies. She usually draws them to explain stuff, and Ichigo usually insults her drawings, and she usually hits him because of it.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **I'll be out of town this week, so I might as well update today. Yay for me! I changed the destination, by the way.

**Replies:**

** CrazyGirlofManyNames: **You think it's a lovely chapter? Thanks! I wasn't expecting it to be, since I was on my dull state at that time.

** animewahine: **I hope I never get writer's block ever again! But it seems to stick to me like glue.

** nekosaru: **Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh.

**»» THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION ««**

**»» CHAPTER 7 ««**

**9:18 p.m.**

**Murray River, Victoria, Australia**

**Team 5 **(Honda, Horo Horo, Fuji, Kyouya, Lee)

Horo Horo opened his eyes and found out that he wasn't in the beach anymore. In fact, it seemed that he was moving. He sat up and almost said "Ah…" for he finally – FINALLY – understood what was going on. His team was in a taxi headed somewhere he doesn't know.

"So you finally decided to wake up," Honda remarked callously.

Horo Horo rubbed his eyes. "Where are we headed to now?" he asked groggily.

"We're headed to Victoria Dock," Fuji replied calmly. He handed him some junk food. "Want one?"

Horo Horo, realizing that he was hungry, nodded and took the entire pack. He was about to munch on his potato chips when the taxi stopped.

"Oh, it looks like we're already here," Kyouya said.

"Man, it's so dark in here!" Siopee remarked, setting her camera on night mode. "Guess we'll have to look for the Route Marker."

Kyouya, meanwhile, took out his flashlight from his bag, turned it on, and led the way. They spotted a Route Marker near the dock, along with what looks like cabin cruisers.

Lee opened the Route Marker and took out the clue. "It says here that we should use these cabin cruisers to a dock in Tasmania," he said after scanning the clue's contents.

Horo Horo looked at the cruiser next to them and grinned. "This looks so cool!" he cried, hopping in. "Look! There's a bathroom! And then over there! There's a kitchen! And look! There's a – "

WHAM!

Kyouya adjusted his glasses, stuffing his souvenir boomerang back in his pocket. "It has all the accommodations for an overnight trip, we know," he replied. "Now can we go?"

The rest of the group hopped on in as Kyouya went to the captain's deck. "Will be anyone steering this cruiser or do we have to steer this ourselves?" he asked Siopee.

"Oh, there's someone here who'll steer for you," Siopee said just as a man in his thirties came in and explained that he'll be steering.

Kyouya went to the galley to find that his teammates were already snacking on the… well… snacks that they found in the kitchen. "We already bought something off the convenience store and you're still hungry?"

"Nothing can replace cooked food, you know," Honda said, taking out some microwaved pizza off the oven.

"Just settle down for a while, Ohtori-kun," Fuji said calmly sipping his juice. "It'll be a while before we could reach Tasmania."

Kyouya sighed and sat down, rubbing his hurting temples. It's gonna be a long night…

**»» WOOT! ««**

Meanwhile, in the production staff's plane… (i)

"Are you getting the footage, Ishida-kun?" Yamazaki Kasumi asked as she hovered over the bespectacled boy, who was editing some of the footage for the next episode in his laptop. The plane hasn't left yet, since Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji left in an emergency.

"_Hai_," Ishida replied, just as he received an e-mail from Yamazaki Megumi. "Ah, Yamazaki-san, your sister just sent her footage of the show."

Kasumi looked at the footage and grinned. "Excellent," she remarked. "Now where's Ichigo? Isn't he supposed to be helping you?"

Ishida pushed his glasses upward. "Uh, hai," he replied. "But he said something about an emergency and he and Kuchiki-san left."

"Oh," Kasumi said, nodding, although annoyed that Ichigo and Rukia seemed to be running off every time there's an "emergency". Even Abarai Renji, who recently signed up to be a staff of the show, seemed to be running off with them as well. "Can you ask Sado-kun or Orihime-chan to help you instead?"

"I'll get right on that."

Kasumi stood up and saw Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji enter the room just in time. "There you are!" she cried, hands on her hips. "Where have you been? And what kind of emergency is it this time?"

Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji looked at each other, not sure on what to reply to that. Then they looked at Kasumi and said the following at the same time:

Ichigo said, "We forgot something."

Renji said, "We went to buy something."

Rukia said, "We went to watch Chappy the Bunny in Toy Kingdom."

Ishida smacked a hand to his forehead, and Kasumi stared at the three blankly. Ichigo and Renji, meanwhile, stared vacantly at Rukia. "Chappy the Bunny?" they whispered at the same time.

"Hey, it's the only thing I could think of," Rukia whispered back.

"Uh… what we meant to say is…" Renji stuttered. "We forgot something, so we went back to Cable Beach for it, but it seemed that we lost it, so we bought it in Toy Kingdom, only to watch _Chappy the Bunny _in the end."

Ichigo and Rukia nodded, relieved that Renji was able to patch a reasonable excuse.

"Uh-huh." Kasumi nodded, although her expression was still skeptical, but she let it go anyway. "I'll let you go this time, but if you have another 'emergency', you better secure a consent slip from me first, or you're fired." With that, she left.

When Kasumi was out of earshot, Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji heaved a sigh of relief. "That was close," Ichigo said. "Who would've known defeating that Hollow could be so tough?"

"That's because the Hollow you defeated was a rank higher than the previous Hollows that we've encountered," Rukia explained, taking out her sketchpad for a more in depth explanation. But before she could, Ichigo stopped her.

"I get it, okay? No need to take out your stupid drawings for an explanation!"

WHAM!

"Seriously, you guys would have at least put your gigai to good use and help me edit this footage," Ishida said austerely.

"Well, I would, but would you really trust Kon in my body?" Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his head after being hit by Rukia.

Ishida shrugged, knowing that Ichigo has a good point.

"Renji, meanwhile, has a hard time getting off his _gigai_."

"Oi, don't bring that up!" Renji snapped.

"And Rukia's _gigai_ is creepy!" Ichigo added.

"My _gigai_ was from the Soul Candy with Chappy the Bunny in it!" Rukia said defensively. "It's supposed to be cute!"

"It's not cute – it's creepy!"

Suddenly, everyone jumped when they heard Kasumi's furious voice. "IF I HEAR ONE MORE ARGUMENT FROM YOU THREE, I'M REDUCING YOUR RANK FROM PRODUCTION STAFF TO JANITORS! YOU HAVE THREE MORE HOURS TO EDIT THAT FOOTAGE, SO GET TO WORK ON THAT! AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR?"

Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji gulped. "Hai…" they replied in low voices.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**8:46 a.m., the next day…**

**Tasmania**

**Team 6 **(Anzu, Anna, Momo, Haruhi, Sakura)

"Momo-chan, wake up," Anzu said as she tried to shake Momo awake. Unfortunately, instead of waking up, Momo snored loudly, snorting from time to time as he slept. A line of drool was hanging down his mouth, which opened and closed from time to time. He also mumbled a few words every now and then.

"Hamburger… zzz… stupid Mamushi… zzz… Ann-chan… zzz…"

The twitch began above Anna's left eyebrow and traveled to affect ger whole eye. "Wake him up already," she growled, her eyes twitching strangely.

"I'm trying, but it seems like he can sleep through a hurricane!" Anzu cried.

Haruhi looked at the sleeping Momo thoughtfully. "Maybe we could pour a glass of ice-cold water on him," she suggested.

Sakura grinned. "Good idea!" she said. "I'll go get some now!" She stood up and headed to the galley. A few seconds later, she returned with – not a glass – a jug of water.

The girls of Group 6 – including Saemi – sweat dropped. "Don't you think pouring a jug of ice-cold water on Momo-chan is a bit too much?" she asked.

Sakura shrugged. "Hey, if Momo-chan can sleep through a hurricane, a glass of ice-cold water won't do," she explained.

The other girls just shrugged and let Sakura do the evilness… I mean… waking up.

A few seconds later, the resident Australians jumped in surprise as they heard a bloodcurdling scream by the dock. Team 6, however, was giggling at the sight of Momo running around, looking like he took a shower without even taking off his clothes.

They got going after that – that is, after Momo went to change and pack his stuff. He was in a bad mood, however.

"Hey, look, it's the Route Marker!" Anzu said, pointing at something near the exit of the dock. She rushed to it and took the clue out. "We're supposed to go hiking to Cradle Mountain and find the next Route Marker at Lake St. Clair."

"Hiking?" Anna said, raising an eyebrow then looking at her current shoes – the sandals that she recently bought in Boracay – and then sighing. "I guess I have to change to sneakers then."

**»» WOOT! ««**

**12:20 p.m., Cradle Mountain**

**Team 4** (Manta, Inui, Kaidoh, Honey, Neji)

"Can't... take it… anymore…" Manta gasped, holding on to his makeshift cane for support and wiping the sweat off his brow.

Team 4 – and Megumi – stopped when they saw Manta looking like he was about to die from exhaustion, heat stroke, and emotional trauma at the same time. "We should take a break," Inui suggested.

They went to one side of the mountain and decided to have their lunch, since Honey and Megumi started sharing their cakes. "Ne, I want the chocolate one," Honey said.

"You can have it if you swap me your strawberry cake," Megumi said.

"Deal!" Honey cried happily. "Hmm… do you think Usa-chan wants to eat lunch with us, too?"

"Maybe," Megumi replied. "In that case, I'll take Inu-chan out, too!" Inu-chan was Megumi's stuffed dog.

Kaidoh sweat dropped at the friendly exchange between the two. "It looks like they're having some kind of tea party," he remarked.

Neji nodded and then looked at the sun. It was around noon, so the sun was blazing more than ever. Not that he minded – he was used to enduring when it comes to extreme weather conditions.

Manta, meanwhile, was gulping down his second canteen of water. "I think you better save that for later," Neji suggested.

The midget glared at the white-eyed ninja, but he stopped drinking anyway.

Inui looked at his watch. "Hmm… I guess we should better go now," he said.

"Eh?" Megumi cried. "It's only been ten minutes, and I haven't fed Inu-chan yet!"

Kaidoh sweat dropped some more. "Shouldn't you be the one to tell us to keep going?" he asked, knowing that camera crew should also be giving support. "And you're not supposed to feed a stuffed toy."

WHAM!

"Inu-chan's not an ordinary stuffed toy, you know!" Megumi said, putting her lunch box back in her bag. "She also has feelings, too! She needs to be loved and cared for!"

And Megumi's litany of how stuffed toys have emotion continued throughout the journey.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**6:46 p.m., Lake Sinclair**

**Team 4 **(Inui, Neji, Kaidoh, Honey, Manta)

Team 4 was halfway to the lake when they spotted Team 5 treading behind them. They seemed fine, except that Honda looked like he was ready to collapse.

Siopee waved at Megumi. "Hey, Megumi-chan!"

Megumi waved back. "So, what's his problem?" she asked, pointing to Honda.

"Heat exhaustion," Kyouya replied nonchalantly. "It's his fault he drank everything in his water canteen."

"Man, this is worse than our last trip to the desert in Egypt," Honda gasped as Horo Horo and Lee helped him up.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "There's a 69 percent chance that your group will be catching up on us, Fuji," he said.

Fuji smiled. "I guess some of your data is never wrong, Inui," he remarked.

Inui raised an eyebrow. "_Some_?"

Fuji laughed. "Oh, I'm only joking."

"Hey, I can see the Route Marker over there!" Horo Horo cried, pointing somewhere at the lake. They couldn't get a good view at it, but they were sure it was a Route Marker because there was someone who looked like Kasumi standing at where Horo Horo was pointing.

At that instant, there was silence. "I guess… whoever gets there first is first place, right?" Manta said pleasantly to the other group.

"Yep, it sure is," Lee agreed.

"Yep," Manta said again, looking away and putting his tiny hands in the tiny pockets of his jeans.

Horo Horo and Lee whistled and rolled on their heels.

"Uh-huh."

"Mm-hmm."

…

"See ya!" Team 5 screeched, heading for the Route Marker, but not before Team 4 sprinted ahead of them.

"You wish!" Manta responded as Team 4 – to the dismay of Team 5 – reached the Route Marker. Kasumi raised an eyebrow, confused at the sudden competitiveness that the two groups showed.

"Okay… so that makes Team 4 first place," Kasumi said. At that, Honey and Manta hugged each other, jumping up and down. Kaidoh and Inui high-fived each other while Neji smiled in satisfaction. He was actually enjoying the game now.

"And Team 5 is second," the host added once Team 5 approached the finish line.

"So, what's the reward, Kasu-chan?" Honey asked.

Kasumi grinned as she handed the two groups what looked like tickets. "Here," she said.

Fuji looked at the tickets. "They're tickets for a musical presentation in the Sydney Opera House," he read. "The title is _Play – A Video Game Symphony_. Presenting the students of Seisou Academy." (ii)

"Seisou Academy?" Kyouya said. "Is that the prestigious music school back in Japan?"

"Uh-huh," Kasumi replied, nodding. "They were really supposed to play in the Sydney Opera House. So I thought it would be fun for you to watch it. Besides, they'll be playing songs from famous video games."

Horo Horo grinned. "Awesome."

It was 9:10 p.m. when all the teams came to the finish line. Team 2 came in third; Team 6 came in fourth; Team 3 went in fifth; Team 7 came in sixth; and Team 1 came in last place.

No rules were broken – fortunately – but unfortunately, Group 1 came in last place, so they have no choice but to be eliminated from the competition.

Now, all the groups – including the staff – boarded the plane and headed towards Sydney, Australia.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**ENDNOTES:**

(i) Since I included BLEACH here, I might as well give them appearances in the fic now and then other than as facilitators of the challenge.

(ii) Seisou Academy is the school in _La Corda D'Oro_. I finally get to include them! Yipee!

I'm done! And it's still short! Hehehe… Review, please! Oh, and I'm thinking of adding an _Amazing Race: Anime Edition Behind the Scenes_, which is kinda like the Shinigami Golden Cup in BLEACH. If you agree with me, PM me!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I'm so inspired to update today! Maybe it's because of the new laptop that my uncle bought me. It's Windows Vista, yay! But you don't care, do you?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own BLEACH, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh.

**»» THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION ««**

**»» CHAPTER 8 ««**

The flight to Sydney was a fairly silent one. Almost all of the contestants and staff were tired from their adventure. Some of them were already sleeping – you can hear a chorus of obnoxious snoring from the far side of the plane – while others resorted to reading newspapers and magazines.

The host, Yamazaki Kasumi, was reading her _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_ for the umpteenth time, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her little sister slapped a hand to her forehead. "Nee-san…"

Kasumi sniffed. "Dumbledore's dead…" she gasped sadly.

"Nee-san, you've been reading that book since you bought it. Is it rational to cry every time you read that Snape killed Dumbledore?"

Kasumi's crying face was replaced by an irritated expression. "SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE! I'M GONNA KILL HIM! WHERE'S MY WAND?" (i)

At that instant, everyone had woken up and was now staring at Kasumi. Once Kasumi had come back to her senses, she sat back down, looking totally awkward. "Sorry…" she managed to mumble before returning to her book.

Megumi sweat dropped. "Are we actually related?" she asked out loud.

Silence reigned once again after that. Then, a few hours later, they heard the pilot announce that they will soon be landing in Sydney Airport. The sleepyheads woke up and started to fix their things.

"Oh, before I forget," Kasumi spoke up, causing everyone's attention back at her, "the Sydney Opera House requires everyone to attend the show in formal attire, so you better show up wearing something proper."

"Um, Yamazaki-san, we don't have any money left," Haruhi pointed out.

"That will be no problem," Megumi replied. "We'll let you use the _Amazing Race_ credit cards to buy anything you need for the performance in the Opera House."

"Or you can go to this guy here." Kim pointed to Ishida. "He can sew as fast as a hurricane. But he'll charge you with a really high price, I can tell you that."

No one spoke about their formal wear after that, as they were exhausted. They plan on getting a good night's sleep first before settling on that problem in the morning.

**»» WOOT! ««**

The next day, while Team 7 was relaxing in the arcade – Seto already took care of their formal wear – Team 6 was having their shopping spree. Momo, however, looked like he was about to throw a huge temper tantrum.

"How long does it take to buy one dress, anyway?" he said in a low voice, struggling to balance all the shopping bags that contain jewelry, shoes, and many, many more items. It seemed that the girls already found Momo to be quite useful.

Anna stepped out of the fitting room, wearing a honeydew organza halter dress. "How do I look?" she asked.

"It looks good on you, Anna!" Anzu said.

"It goes really well with your shoes!" Sakura added.

Haruhi said nothing. She wasn't that good when it comes to fashion – at least, that's what her Kyouya-senpai told her bluntly. So far, she was the only one among the girls who already have a dress, courtesy of the Hitachiin twins. Actually, Hikaru was the one who gave her the dress, and Haruhi could have sworn that he was red in the face. Maybe it had something to do with the heat…

"Bah, it's a gown!" Momo said, attracting the girls' attention. "Who cares about your shoes? People won't really notice it, right?"

Anzu and Sakura gasped and then looked fiercely at Momo as if what he said could change the world forever. Momo, sensing the two girls' murderous auras, gulped and shrunk behind Haruhi. "I mean… you look pretty…?"

With that, Anzu and Sakura turned their attention back to Anna.

"You know," Haruhi said, "you shouldn't have told them that straight to their faces."

"Speak for yourself…" Momo grumbled.

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Where are we going?" Ren asked with annoyance for what seemed like the nth time as he stared out of the window of the van.

"We're going to the location of where you will be punished," Kim replied simply. She was sitting in the passengers' seat. On the second row were Ren, Kaoru, and Mai. On the third row were Oishi, Hinata, and Orihime. On the last row were Ishida and Chad.

Ren grunted. "Thanks. That was a big help…"

"Man, I feel like we're gonna be executed or something, the way you act so mysterious," Kaoru commented.

"No way!" Orihime said. "If we're going to execute you, then that means we're going to execute the other eliminated contestants as well. And then the producers will cancel the show!"

Everyone stared at her, looking all disgusted. "He meant it as a far comparison, Inoue-san," Ishida said, looking embarrassed for Orihime.

"So, you're the ones not going to the Sydney Opera House tonight?" Mai asked, filing her nails as if they haven't been filed often.

"I'm the only one not going," Ishida said. "I'm not interested in video game music, even if the orchestra plays it."

"Not really," Kim replied. "If you guys can finish early, then the rest of us can have time to freshen up and join the rest of the contestants and staff."

"I'm going, too!" Orihime said optimistically.

"Me, too," Chad said, then fell silent once again.

The van stopped in front of a zoo, which Oishi recognized as the zoo where that _Crocodile Hunter _host used to visit… or something. He knew that much since Eiji was one of Steve Irwin's biggest fans, seeing how he literally bawled and cursed stingrays when he heard the news of Steve Irwin's death.

Mai crinkled her nose. "Eww… wildlife."

"Guys," Kim said, stepping out of the van. "Welcome to the Australia Zoo! This is owned by Terri Irwin. You know – the _Crocodile Hunter _guy's wife?"

"Ah…" everyone who didn't know said, nodding in comprehension.

"So, you'll be working for a whole day here in this zoo," Ishida said, taking out a list from his pocket. "Kaoru-san will be assigned to take care of the lizards."

Kaoru groaned. He was actually looking forward to wrestling a crocodile or anything dangerous in the zoo. Hikaru would be so jealous if that was the case.

"Hinata-san will be assigned to feed the animals in the Kids' Zoo," Ishida continued. "Mai-san will be assigned in the aviary."

Mai's eyes widened. "The… what…?"

"The aviary," Ishida repeated, frowning. "It's a large enclosure for holding birds in confinement."

"I think I know the meaning very well, thank you very much," Mai said, glowering at Ishida. "Are you serious? I can't take care of any animal! I had my nails filed!"

"Well, you can file them again once you're done for the day," Ishida snapped back. "Anyway, as for Oishi-san and Ren-san, you will be taking care of the others reptiles and the mammals respectively."

"Wha-what?!" Oishi and Ren cried at the same time.

"I have to take care of reptiles?!" Oishi cried, looking appalled.

"I have to care of disgustingly fuzzy and fluffy animals?!" Ren cried, looking more horrified than Oishi.

"Look, I didn't make the list – the manager did!" Ishida cried angrily, causing everyone to fall silent. Ishida, seeing that he made his point perfectly clear, cleared his throat. "Now, let's go to the manager, shall we? He'll be giving you your uniforms."

"H-Hai…" Team 1 said timidly, following his lead.

**»» WOOT! ««**

"This sucks… this sucks… this sucks…" Mai grumbled as she was mopping the aviary. "Why, oh why, did I join this stupid show, only to end up sweeping droppings in the aviary?! I'm gonna kill that Katsuya Jounouchi by the time I come back here…"

"Um… Kujaku-san, why are you talking to yourself?"

Mai jumped, mop flying out of the air and saw Orihime looking at her curiously, a can of red bean paste in her hands. "Ah… Orihime-chan… don't scare me like that! What are you doing here?"

"I'm just looking around, that's all," Orihime replied. "Tatsuki-chan said she wanted a souvenir by the time I get back to Japan." Suddenly, she looked at a cockatoo. "Ooohh… this is kawaii! Maybe I should take this to her…"

Mai gulped when by "take this", Orihime meant taking the cockatoo itself. "Uh, Orihime-chan, why don't you go to the souvenirs shop?" she said. "There are a lot of things there that maybe your friend will love."

Orihime stopped strangulating the poor bird and thought for a moment. "Hmm… you're right… Arigatou, Kujaku-san! See you later!"

Mai sighed in relief. And suddenly… she felt something wet on her shoulder. She looked at it…

Well… let's say Mai is starting to hate birds now.

Correction – She _hates _birds now.

**»» WOOT! ««**

"You all right, mate? You look light today!"

Oishi gulped and nodded at the manager, who was showing him around the Reptile House. "Do I… do I have to actually go near the reptiles?"

"Let's see…" the manager said, looking meditative for a moment. "Do you have life insurance?"

Oishi shook his head. "No, from what I can recall…"

"Then, you've got nothing to worry about," the manager said, and Oishi heaved a sigh of relief. "We won't let you near anything venomous, and we certainly won't let you near the crocodiles. 'Course, they're not harmful, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

They stopped walking and the manager showed him what it looked like where the lizards live. "You'll be taking care of the turtles and the tortoises, but I'll put Se Se in your responsibility for a day."

Oishi blinked. "Who's Se Se?" he asked.

"Ah, good question." The manager grinned as he entered the lizard's habitat. He pointed to an iguana sitting near a rock. "That bloke is Se Se. He's a Fijan Crested Iguana."

Oishi looked at the iguana, Se Se. "He looks… nice," he remarked, not actually knowing what else to say. "…And harmless…"

"Right you are," the manager said. "Now" – he gave Oishi a bucket of what looked like flowers – "these are Hibiscus flowers. You just call him and he'll come running right to you to eat them. Got it?"

Oishi nodded. "Just hand out the flowers and call him. Got it."

"Good. Now, you go take care of them, all right? I gotta check that girl from the aviary. I think she couldn't take the droppings." The manager laughed and left.

**»» WOOT! ««**

Meanwhile, while Mai was cursing every species of birds in alphabetical order, while Oishi was enjoying himself in feeding Se Se, while Kaoru was trying to sneak to the crocodile pen, and while Hinata was taking care of all the cute animals in the Kids' Zoo, Ren was having a glaring contest with the kangaroos.

"What am I to do with you?" he said, staring at the kangaroo circumspectly.

The kangaroo only stared back with its cute, big eyes.

"Now don't stare at me like that," Ren said, frowning. "I already fed you. What else do you need?"

The kangaroo continued to stare at him with its cute, big eyes.

"Hmph, never mind," Ren said, marching away. "You're just a bunch of dumb animals anyway."

Before Ren could leave, however…

WHAM!

CRASH!

BOOM!

"Ren, are you all right?"

The next thing Ren knew was that he was in the clinic and Oishi was looking at him agitatedly. "What happened?" he asked, sitting up.

"Man, we just found you unconscious in the kangaroos' habitat," Kaoru explained. He sustained some bruises in his left arm.

"Lesson Number One when dealing with kangaroos – never insult one or you'll receive a flying kick of doom," the manager said, handing Ren and Kaoru an icepack. "And Lesson Number One in Australia Zoo" – he looked pointedly at Kaoru – "when someone tells you not to go near the crocs, then don't."

Kaoru grinned sheepishly, avoiding everyone's gazes.

Kim looked at her watch. "It's already three in the afternoon," she said. "I guess we better head back now. I still need to change."

"Me, too," Orihime said. "I can't wait to try the dress that Ishida-kun made for me."

Ishida suddenly coughed, pulled up his glasses, and tried to hide his red face using a magazine that he found on the nurse's desk.

Chad gave a small smile and Kim giggled at that.

**»» WOOT! ««**

By quarter to seven that night, the groups and staff gathered downstairs at the lobby. Some were checking if they looked okay, some were complimenting their teammates to the point of teasing, and those who have crushes were staring at their crushes.

"Yugi! Look at Anzu-chan!" Eiji squealed amusingly, elbowing Yugi.

Yugi gulped as he gazed at Anzu, who was talking to her girl teammates. She really looked pretty in her latte satin frock dress with matching elbow gloves. Then he composed himself when Kikumaru elbowed him. "Be quiet, would you, Eiji-kun?"

"Say where is Chocolove?" Horo Horo asked Team 3.

"I think he received a concussion when someone threw a Frisbee at his head… REAL HARD," Sasuke replied apathetically.

"Nya, Momo-chin is so lucky, being surrounded by pretty girls," Eiji said humorously, his voice loud enough for Momo to hear.

At that, Momo looked at him and gave his red-headed senpai a thumbs-up.

"Yes, I think so too, Eiji," Fuji said, looking handsome in his tuxedo, causing some of the girls in the lobby to giggle and stare at him. "But then again… what would Tachibana's little sister think about this?"

At that instant, all the color drained from Momo's face and he gulped. (ii)

"Ooh, who's this Tachibana's little sister?" Anzu asked, smirking. "Is she your _girlfriend_, Momo-chan?"

"The one he wishes is his girlfriend!" Eiji said before Momo could say anything.

"Eiji-senpai…" Momo mumbled faintly, his face redder than his fullback vest.

Anna just remembered something. "Has anyone seen Haruhi?" she asked.

Anzu shook her head. "I thought she went down with the rest of us," she said.

"Sorry I'm late!"

They turned around and saw Haruhi walking up to her groupmates. She was wearing a Chambord (iii) satin ball gown that had a voluminous skirt, along with matching crystal earrings and a necklace. Her hair was tied to a half-ponytail, with the help of hair extensions, of course.

Everyone found Tamaki staring at Haruhi, eyes wide and a mouth so wide that a number of flies could fly in anytime. Hikaru, meanwhile, looked away, red in the face, while Yoh, Ryoma, and Kawamura were coughing suggestively, and Seto was looking at them, completely clueless.

"HARUHI!!"

The next thing everyone knew, Tamaki was crushing Haruhi with his big hug. "Waaahhh, you look so kawaii! My daughter looks so kawaii!"

"Se-senpai… Can't breathe…" Haruhi gasped, her face going blue.

"Hem-hem."

Everyone turned around – and Tamaki stopped crushing, er, hugging Haruhi – and turned to the source of that voice. Kasumi and the rest of the staff – except for Ishida, since he really didn't care much about those things – were standing in front of them, clad in formal attire.

"Well, we'll be going now," Kasumi said. "The limos are waiting."

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Ooohh…" Yoh said in amazement as he stared at the wonderful exterior of the Sydney Opera House. "It looks so cool up close!"

Hikaru grinned. "Cool, huh? Wait till you see the inside of it!"

"This is my first time to watch a musical performance in an opera house," Kawamura said thoughtfully. "Tou-san isn't usually the type to watch these kinds of shows."

"Yeah, it's my first time, too," Yoh said, knowing that all he ever did before was eat, sleep, train for the Shaman Tournament, and succumb to Anna's every whim.

The limo parked in front of the opera house and they entered, Yoh and Kawamura already staring at every angle of the inside of the opera house. There, they saw that Rina was motioning for them to follow her.

"You guys have your tickets?" Rina asked.

Team 7 took out their tickets at the same time.

"Give them to that guy near the Main Hall," Rina said, pointing to the gentleman receiving the people's tickets. "The show won't start until eight, but it's best to get inside to get good seats. I won't be filming, so don't worry."

Everyone went inside and took their seats. They found out that the orchestra was at the middle, and all the seats were arranged in a circle. On top of the orchestra seats were huge TV screens.

"Cool!" Horo Horo cried. "I wonder what we're going to watch!"

"Check out your brochure," Fuji said, holding out the brochure that the gentleman in the ticket booth gave him. He opened it and read the program. "Hmm… they'll be playing Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, Kingdom Hearts, and many more…"

"Kingdom Hearts? Really?" Honda's eyes lit up. "I already finished the first one, but I'm struggling with the second one! Have you defeated Sephiroth yet?"

"I finished both the games, actually," Fuji replied calmly. "And I already got to watch the trailer for the third one." (iv)

Honda's eyes literally bulged out of its sockets. "HU-WHAT?! REALLY? HOW?"

Fuji just gave him that composed smile. "You should finish your game to find out."

"Aw…" Honda said miserably.

"Oi, sit down!" Shizuka cried crossly, into which Honda, who was the only one standing, did so submissively.

Ichigo, meanwhile, looked around and sighed snappily. "Where are those idiots?" By idiots, he meant Rukia and Renji, who weren't to be seen anywhere.

Everyone shrugged and suddenly the lights went off, signaling the start of the show. Ichigo sat down and sighed, trying not to think of the chaos that the two might bring upon.

And no, Rukia and Renji weren't threatened by Hollows today. They were just so interested at the opera house that they started exploring… until they got lost, that is.

"Where did Yamazaki-san say the performance will be?" Renji asked, following Rukia, who was no help, since she was looking around aimlessly.

"Something about Main Hall…" Rukia said, still looking around. She saw a sign that said "second floor". "Hmm… looks like this isn't the place… Aren't there any people around to ask for directions?"

Suddenly, they heard a PING sound, and the elevator door opened. Renji stared at it for a moment before looking at Rukia. "Oi, Rukia, let's go check this one out."

After the orchestra finished playing the main theme from _Metal Gear Solid_, the lights went on again, signaling an intermission.

"Kurosaki!" Kasumi cried, causing Ichigo to look at her. "Where the heck are Kuchiki and Abarai? I thought they were with you!"

Ichigo looked around once again – half of the show has passed and still no sign of Rukia and Renji. "I'll go look for them," he said, striding off. "If they get into so much trouble, they are so dead!" he mumbled.

They were nowhere to be found on the first floor, so Ichigo decided to head upstairs. After much searching, he found them, all right – in the fifth floor.

"BAKA!" Ichigo yelled, throwing a flying fist punch on Renji. "Didn't I tell you not to get lost?"

"BAKA!" Renji yelled back, throwing back the flying fist punch. "We were looking for you and then we got lost! Can't you at least be relieved that you found us?"

CRASH!

BANG!

BOOM!

"Don't argue at a time like this!" Rukia yelled, rubbing her fists on the skirt of her olivine flare gown. "How much of the show did we miss?"

Ichigo stood up from his transient-unconscious position and rubbed the back of his head, Renji following his lead. "About half of it."

"Good," Rukia said. "Let's go. I know where the Main Hall is – "

"I think it's better if I lead the way," Ichigo interrupted, heading for the elevator, ignoring Rukia's frosty glare. "Follow me."

"I love going in here!" Renji said excitedly. "You don't know what floor you'll end up!"

"Cut that out – the way you're excited about simple things is creepy," Ichigo said, pushing the button for the first floor.

Seconds passed, and Ichigo had that weird feeling that they were not moving at all.

"Hey, aren't we supposed to reach the first floor by now?" Rukia asked, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Yeah, we're supposed to," Ichigo said, but the elevator didn't move.

A minute passed before Ichigo came to a horrible conclusion.

They're stuck!

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Sado-kun, have you seen Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san, and Abarai-kun around?" Orihime asked during the intermission.

Chad shook his head. "I think Ichigo went to look for Kuchiki-san and Abarai-kun," he replied. "The two weren't to be found before the show started."

"I see…" Orihime said, looking at her watch. "The next half of the show's almost starting. I wonder where they went."

"Excuse me," one gentleman said. "The next half of the show will be starting in a minute. All are requested to return to their seats."

"Maybe they're off fighting some Hollow and didn't bother to tell us," Orihime supposed, heading inside with Chad.

Chad just nodded. "Probably."

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Man, I'm hungry…" Renji mumbled, as he once again stared at the enclosed four walls that he was stuck in. "I want an apple…"

"Stupid elevator," Ichigo muttered, kicking the elevators door, wishing that some divine force would open it and send him home way back to Karakura Town.

Rukia, meanwhile, was staring at the elevator buttons as if they were something interesting. "Ichigo?" she said.

"What?" Ichigo said, his reply sounding like an irritated and jaded retort.

"I thought all the elevator buttons come in numbers," Rukia said. "How come this one isn't?" She pointed to a button with a red E in it.

Ichigo stared at the button, blinked, and slapped a hand to his forehead, preparing to bang his head in the elevator.

He forgot that one most important thing.

"All elevators have an emergency button."

**»» WOOT! ««**

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir," one of the maintenance men said as Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji stepped out of the elevator, taking in a breath of fresh air – if you call air from the air conditioners fresh.

Ichigo didn't reply and instead, headed for the Main Hall. Suddenly, the doors opened and people started coming out.

"There you are!" Orihime said, approaching them along with Chad. "Where have you been? The show's already finished!"

"Wha - ?" Ichigo's jaw dropped, then closed. He then went to give cold glares at Rukia and Renji, who looked away, whistling innocently. "I'll kill you two," he mumbled.

"The show was really cool!" Orihime continued, oblivious of the fact that Ichigo was looking murderous now. "After the intermission, they went and played some songs from Kingdom Hearts. And then, at the last part of the show, they played that song that Yuna sang at FF-X2… What was that song, again…? Ah – 1000 Words!"

"You all right, Ichigo?" Chad asked, although he already knew the answer to that question.

"Getting stuck in an elevator for almost an hour with these two idiots?" Ichigo said sarcastically. "Sure, I'm all right… I've never been better…"

**END OF AUSTRALIAN CHALLENGE**

**And now… presenting…**

**(very long drum roll)**

_**THE AMAZING RACE – **_**RANDOM!!**

**(cue fanfare)**

**(Back at the hotel…)**

**Kasumi: **Guys, before we leave, I have an important announcement to make.

**Honda (knowing that whenever Kasumi talks, there's always an important announcement): **What is it this time?

**Kasumi: **Team Group 1 is already eliminated, their camera girl, Kim-chan will be working as one of the facilitators now. And, sad to say, Natsumi-chan, Shizuka-chan, and Rina-chan will be leaving as well, due to emergency reasons.

**Honey: **Awww… Shizu-chan's leaving?

**Kasumi: **Not to worry! We have found replacements for them! And they are… Kurosaki Ichigo for Team 4!

**Ichigo (blinks): **Huh?

**Kasumi: **Sado Yasutora for Team 2!

**Chad: **…

**Jou (sighs): **Great… Another quiet guy…

**Rukia: **I wanna be a camera girl!

**Renji (whispers): **Baka! You don't even know how to operate a camera!

**Rukia: **Ooohh… good point…

**Kasumi: **And the camera girl for the Team 7 is the newest member of the _Amazing Race _family. Please welcome, Tachibana Ann-chan!

**Ann (appears, waving): **Ah, konnichiwa, minna-san! It's nice to see some old and new faces here!

**Seigaku regulars – except for Tezuka – cough loudly and suggestively towards Momo.**

**Momo (stares at Ann, jaw open, eyes wide): **Wha-Wha-WHAT??

i That was a true-to-life story. That actually happened in public after I got to that part in _Half-Blood Prince_.

ii I'm such a big Momo/Ann fan. Cheers!

iii Chambord is a sort of wine red color.

iv For those who haven't watched the third trailer yet, accomplish the 100 percent game completion in Proud Mode. Or better yet, watch it in You Tube.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Back again! Although I'm on holiday, I have a lot of free time in my hands, so I'm able to write Chapter 9.

I changed by name to auricachan, by the way. It's based on a character – Aurica Nestmile – in a PS2 game called _Ar Tonelico: The Melody of Elemia_.

Also, I'm planning on making each country challenge a limit of two chapters – one chapter for the challenge itself, and the other for the reward/punishment period.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh.

**»»««**

**»» THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION««**

**»» CHAPTER 9««**

**Team 4**

Honey opened his eyes and scrutinized the unfamiliar territory that he and his teammates were stuck in. From the looks of the writings on the posters – which were mostly Islamic – he believed that they have reached their destination – Alexandria, Egypt.

Neji volunteered to look for the Route Marker outside the airport while the others relaxed in a nearby espresso bar. He came back with the clue in his hand. "It says that we have to head to the library section of the Alexandrian Library Museum," he said.

Inui frowned and looked at his watch, which he set in Egyptian time. It was already thirteen minutes past midnight. (i) "I believe that the library is closed at this time of hour," he said.

"Maybe we should get some sleep first," Kaidoh suggested. Honey was asleep again, and he knew that the kid – although five years older than he was – could get bad-tempered any minute.

Inui nodded. "You're right. We should find an in. We can head to the Alexandrian Library Museum at ten in the morning."

**»» WOOT! ««**

Unfortunately, Team 4 had a hard time waking Honey up, so Team 3 got to the Alexandrian Library Museum at 10:05 in the morning while being eyed askance by the security guard.

"Nya, we're the first ones here," Eiji remarked cheerfully, prancing inside.

Chocolove grinned. "This place is as quiet as – "

"Okay, it's really quiet – we get the point," Yugi interrupted before Chocolove could start another one of his overworked jokes.

"Look – I can see Takayama-san over there," Tamaki said, pointing to the librarian's desk. Needless to say, Kim was there, reading a book while popping some gum.

Team 3 approached Kim, and Sasuke was the first to speak up. "Oi, Takayama – "

"SSSHH!!" Kim's interjected, her face as wooden like the face of the typical librarian. This caused Team 3 to move away from the librarian's desk.

"What?" Chocolove said in a low voice. "We're the only ones here! You're not even the real librarian!"

Kim grinned. "I know," she said. "But I'm the librarian until all the contestants have finished the challenge, so I'm trying to act like one."

"Well, you have the attitude down-pat," Tamaki remarked, causing his teammates to roll their eyes. "But you're also supposed to tell us what we're supposed to do, correct?"

"Right." Kim handed Tamaki a sheet of paper. "This is a crossword puzzle. Observably, all you have to do is to solve it. And you can use the resources around you for assistance."

Eiji looked at the questions in the crossword puzzle and his face fell. "It's Egyptian history," he said, sighing. "Looks like I won't be much help in this one."

"I think I can answer some of the questions here," Yugi said, taking out a pen. He remembered a lot of stories that his grandfather used to tell during his trips to Egypt. Of course, having a 5000-year old pharaoh reside in you didn't hurt either.

"That's a relief," Sasuke said, since he didn't know a thing about Egyptian history either.

"While I'm figuring this out, why don't you guys find some books about Egyptian mythology?" Yugi said, answering half of the questions.

Eiji grinned and saluted. "Roger!" he said, rushing to the nearest bookshelf before collided into Fuji. "Fuji!" he squealed, enveloping his best friend in a hug.

"SSSHH!!" Kim's shushing voice echoed throughout the library, causing some to roll their eyes once more.

"Gee, you think she's really a librarian…" Honda commented.

"Shut your trap and just help us look for some answers to this crossword puzzle," Kyouya snapped harshly, pulling himself a chair and taking out a pen.

Honda muttered something perplexing, but he receded to one of the bookshelves.

It took both of them at least ten minutes to finish the crossword puzzle. After that, Teams 3 and 5 handed their finished crosswords to Kim.

Kim glanced over the crossword sheets. "Yeah, everything looks okay," she said. She handed each group an envelope. "Here's your clue."

Lee instantly tore the envelope and read the clue out loud before Group 3 could open their clue. "_Head to the Caesareum_."

Horo Horo grinned. "Great. Let's go!"

And Group 5 rushed off, with Group 3 tailing behind them.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**Team 7**

"Good luck, Echizen, Taka-san," was all Fuji said at 2:05 p.m. when Group 5 left the Caesareum just as Team 7 entered the said location.

Anyway, they found out that the Caesareum was already occupied by Team 3. They also discovered that there were six Route Markers in the area – one was already open.

Yoh came close to the nearest Route Marker. "It's locked," he said, pointing out the obvious.

Ryoma frowned and then noticed some instructions written on the Route Marker. "_'Answer this question and figure out the nine-digit combination of the lock. Which fictional character is said to have committed suicide in the Caesareum?'_"

Hikaru groaned – he won't be of much help in this one. World Literature wasn't one of his best subjects, but he could've sworn that they discussed something like that earlier. "Who was that again…?"

"Try Cleopatra," Seto suddenly said, and Hikaru nodded in understanding, although disappointed that the answer came to him way too late.

"Hmm… it's a nine digit combination," Kawamura said. "Which means that we have to convert the word to numbers."

"Got it!" they heard Tamaki cry in delight.

"Why don't we try converting it by phone numbers?" Ryoma suggested.

Seto thought it was a good idea. "1 stands for the symbols; 2 stands for ABC… Let's see… C-L-E-O-P-A-T-R-A… Try 253672872."

Kawamura tried the combination, but the lock didn't budge.

"Well that was a pretty horrible idea," Seto remarked, causing Ryoma – the one who gave the "horrible idea" – to glower at him.

"Well, thanks for your support," Ryoma replied mockingly.

Yoh stared at the numbers before suddenly having an allegorical light bulb appear above his head. "Can I make a suggestion?" he asked.

"Sure," Hikaru said, looking at Ryoma and Seto, who were glaring daggers at each other. "And hurry up, before one of them actually develops heat vision."

"Anna used this numerology thing in the past," Yoh began. "Where you represent the letter with the numbers one to nine to tell your Inner Dreams (ii)."

The glaring stopped and everyone looked at Yoh. "That might actually work," Kawamura said.

"Go on – we're listening," Hikaru said, grinning.

"Well, the letters A to I stand for 1 to 9. The same goes with J to R. In S to Z, however, it's only from 1 to 8."

"So if we use this numerology nonsense…" Seto said thoughtfully. "'Cleopatra' will be – "

"335671291," Ryoma finished with a condescending smirk, this time earning a glare from the young head of the Kaiba Corp.

Kawamura tried the combination, and – much to everyone's relief – the lock opened. He instantly took out the clue. "_Head to the top floor of Cairo Tower,_" he read. "_One member must rappel to get the key for the Route Marker on the ledge. Your mode of transportation should be by terrain vehicle_."

"Is that so?" Seto said, raising an eyebrow. "Then I choose Hitachiin to do the rappelling."

Hikaru grinned even wider and threw his fist in the air. "Yes!"

**»» WOOT! ««**

Team 6's destination, however, was different. Two of their teammates are supposed to paddle across the Suez Canal, get the clue stuck in the buoy, and paddle back again.

So far, they're having a hard time crossing the hot dessert on their terrain vehicles.

"I had no idea that the desert would be this hot at four in the afternoon," Haruhi said, adjusting her large-brimmed hat.

"I heard that Egypt is hot this time around," Sakura said, steering her vehicle in one hand while cooling herself with a battery-operated fan in the other hand.

"At least the guy from back in Alexandria was nice enough to lend us these terrain vehicles for free," Anna said.

Anzu put on her sunglasses and sped up. "I think I can see a mass of water over there," she said.

"Good," Momo said in relief, opening his canteen of water. "Even riding in the desert can be tiring."

They reached the Suez Canal and rushed towards the seaport. There they saw Teams 2 and 3 waiting for their teammates to return.

"So, which of you guys will paddle?" Saemi asked.

"Momo-chan and Haruhi," Sakura suddenly said, since they already talked about this.

Momo and Haruhi put on the life vests lying near the canoes and climbed down the seaport and into their canoe. "Good luck!" Anzu said before the two paddled off.

"I wonder what's taking Jou-niichan and Kuni-niichan so long," Mokuba said.

"Maybe Jounouchi took matters into his own hands again," Mori presumed. "Or maybe Jou fell."

Naruto blinked, taken aback that Mokuba managed to get two sentences out of Mori.

"Ne, it looks like Momo-chin's doing most of the paddling," Kikumaru remarked, looking out on the water with his binoculars.

Anna looked out at the already-disappearing figure. "Yeah… looks like it…"

"Well, Haruhi never really is good with anything involving athletics," Tamaki said, and the rest of Team 6 exchanged anxious looks. "But she is cute, right?"

Ichigo looked at Tamaki in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me…" he said.

Sakura and Anna were still exchanging looks that said "Uh-oh."

"Look! There they are!" Naruto cried, pointing out on the water. Tezuka was paddling while Jou was looking gloomy. Both of them were wet through.

"What does the clue say?" Mokuba asked.

"We are to head to the Great Pyramid," Tezuka replied in a roundabout way. "It's in Cairo, and I suppose it will take at least two hours to get there."

"It'll be six in the evening by the time we get there," Mori said.

"Awright, let's go!" Naruto cried, hopping to his terrain vehicle without waiting for his other teammates.

**»» WOOT! ««**

For the moment, Group 4 was having a hard time deciding on who will rappel down the Cairo Tower. And that involved a lot of pointing.

"How about Neji-chan?" Honey said.

"How about Inui-san?" Neji said.

"How about Kaidoh?" Inui said.

"How about Manta?" Kaidoh said.

"How about Honey-kun?" Manta said.

"How about – "

"Oh, for goodness sake, would you cut it out?" Megumi snapped in frustration. "Pointing won't get you anywhere!"

"Neither of us wants to do it," Neji said condescendingly. "Why don't you pick?"

Megumi looked at them circumspectly. She took a deep breath and did the best selection method ever in the world…

"Eeenie, meanie, miny mo… Catch a puppy by the toe… If it squeals, let it go… Eeenie, meanie, miny mo!"

…And her finger pointed to Kaidoh.

Kaidoh blinked for a few moments and then sighed in irritation. "Fine, I'll go," he said, entering the tower.

"Is Mamu-chan gonna be okay?" Honey asked as they walked to the side where the locked Route Markers were located.

"Don't worry," Inui said. "Kaidoh never backs out, especially when it comes to a challenge."

"Good thing it wasn't me over there," Manta said, sighing in relief. "I'm scared of heights." Kaidoh was already getting ready to rappel down the tower.

"That's why Inui-kun keeps telling you to drink three bottles of milk everyday!" Megumi said reproachfully.

"Why don't you tell Honey-kun that, too?" Manta snapped, feeling that the world is biased towards him.

"Honey's height is impinged on his genes," Inui explained. "So there's nothing we can do about it."

"Does that mean I'll stay like this forever, Ii-chan?" Honey asked with anticipation.

Inui nodded. "100 percent."

"Yay!" Honey squealed, hugging his Usa-chan. By know, Kaidoh was already rappelling down the tower.

By the time Kaidoh went down, Team 4 had discussed every random thing they could think of, and Kaidoh felt out-of-place. So he put the key in the lock, opened the Route Marker, and took out the clue.

"_We need to head to the Sphinx in Giza_," Kaidoh said, handing the clue to Inui to adjust his bandana.

"That's not far away," Neji said, opening the map that they recently bought. "We better head there now."

"Great," Megumi said as they hopped on to their terrain vehicles. "Now, about that debate we were just having… Chocolate: Nuts or No Nuts?"

**»» WOOT! ««**

**Team 2**

"Okay… this is pretty creepy…" Mokuba said as they neared the pyramid. The Great Pyramid looked disturbing, although it was only six in the evening. Probably because tourists weren't surrounding it as it usually was.

"But you've been to a pyramid before, right, Mokuba?" Jou said.

"Yeah, but I was looking for nii-sama at that time," Mokuba replied. "It turns out that he was in Pharaoh Atem's (iii) memory… But he didn't really give me details."

Mori was listening in on Jou and Mokuba – not on purpose, of course, since he was between them – concerning Jou's "adventures" in the memories of a certain Pharaoh who once resided in Mutou Yugi. Mori believed that it was just something to keep Mokuba amused.

They parked near the pyramid and approached Rukia, who was reading what looked like – what else? – Chappy the Bunny comics. (iv)

"Kuchiki-san," Tezuka greeted brusquely.

Rukia looked up. "Ah, you're here!" she said, using the voice she usually uses whenever she's talking to Ichigo's classmates, save for Ishida, Orihime, and Chad, that is.

"What are we going to do…" Naruto gulped. "…inside?"

"It's pretty easy," Rukia said, opening her sketch pad, ready to explain. "One member – along with the cameraman – has to head inside the pyramid and locate one of the five flags hidden inside. And remember – NO making their own flag!" She looked pointedly at Naruto, who looked away uncomfortably.

"Katsuya should go first," Tezuka said.

Jou blinked. "Why me?" he asked.

"You said it yourself – you've already been in one," Tezuka pointed out.

Jou sighed. "Guess I have no choice," he muttered as he grabbed a flashlight and went inside with Chad.

"Man, it's dark in here!" Jou said out loud, trying to squeeze himself inside the narrow corridors of the pyramid. "Chad, are you still with me?"

"Yeah," Chad replied, then said no more.

"Sheesh, were Egyptians really lanky back then?" Jou remarked cantankerously as he finally squeezed himself out; his chest was hurting.

He shone his flashlight at his whereabouts. Hieroglyphics covered the walls, and he could see some pots and even jewelry inside. At the center was a casket, presumably from the Pharaoh.

"This must be the Burial Chamber," Jou said out loud once again, since he has that habit of speaking out loud whenever he's in someplace dark. Then again, he's always speaking out loud. Anyway… "Now where is that flag?"

Jou searched everywhere, but he found nothing. He was about to tear his hair out when he realized that he hadn't looked inside the casket yet. (v)

He shone his flashlight at the sarcophagus and blinked. Something didn't look quite right.

And he was right – sarcophaguses are supposed to show pharaohs holding rods or something like that.

And this pharaoh was holding a flag instead of a rod!

Jou grinned and grabbed the flag. "There you are!" he said, then turning to Chad. "Let's head out of this dark place."

When Jou headed out, he could see Tezuka and Mori sitting near the vehicles with their arms crossed, not looking really pleased. On the other side, Naruto, Mokuba, and Rukia were reading the Chappy the Bunny comics.

"Hey!" Jou said, waving the flag gleefully. "I've got the flag! Who's next?"

Tezuka stood up. "I'll go," he said, grabbing the flashlight from Jou and disappearing inside.

Once everyone was finished reading the comics – and Naruto, Mori, and Mokuba had their turn – Rukia handed them the clue.

"_Head to Ancient Hermopolis_," Mori read. "_Use a camel as a mode of transportation throughout the journey._"

"Oh, cool!" Mokuba cried. Although he visited Egypt loads of times, this will be his first time to ride a camel. Blame his brother for being such a sissy.

"We better get there now or we'll reach there in a really late time," Tezuka said.

"But, I wanna read Chappy the Bunny…" Naruto said.

"We're going," Tezuka said in a final tone.

Naruto fought back tears as they left the pyramid.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**Team 5**

"Ohtori-kun, I think we should camp out for now," Fuji said, stopping his camel. Night had already fallen – it was already 8:25 p.m. – and it's impossible to see, much less continue.

Kyouya nodded and turned to Siopee. "There's a base camp for the contestants not too far from here," Siopee said, grabbing her cellphone. "I'll just inform them, okay?"

They followed Kasumi's instructions and soon found the encampment. Several tents were already set and a bonfire was already lit. Kyouya slid down his camel and took the tent that Kim gave them.

Honda, meanwhile, fell down headfirst to the sand. He spat out some sand before he went and helped set up the tent.

Setting up the tent didn't take too long, and once it was done, the five of them entered it, since it was huge enough to provide accommodation for all of them. Siopee, meanwhile, went to the staff's tent.

"Man, I'm pooped," Lee said, lying down without even bothering to open his sleeping bag.

"And hungry," Horo Horo added, and his grumbling stomach attested to his statement.

"Well, I have some bread here," Kyouya said, scouring his bag. He took out pieces of bread that they bought in the market in Cairo.

"Again?" Honda whined. "That's what we had last lunch!"

"Suit yourself," Kyouya said, taking a bite, wishing that he had some spicy sauce to go with the bread.

"I'm going to sleep," Lee said, rolling over. "Oyasumi." Before they knew it, he was snoring.

Fuji stood up, taking out his camera. "Ohtori-kun, is it all right if I go take some pictures?" he asked.

Kyouya nodded, taking out his ledger. "Just try not to wander off," he said. He took a few notes in his travel log. It might prove informative in the future.

**»» WOOT! ««**

At around 5:30, Team 3 set off while the other groups – even the staff – were still asleep. Some of them were still sleepy – especially Eiji, who yawned and was trying to steady himself in his camel. "Nya, I'm sleepy…"

Chocolove yawned as well. "Me, too…" he said, not noticing that his teammates were relieved since he won't be able to tell his jokes.

"Something tells me that I've been here before," Yugi said as they stopped in front of Ancient Hermopolis, some kind of a ruined temple.

And he was right, as he experienced a flashback. This was the place where he and Atem had their final battle.

"Ah, there's the Route Marker," Tamaki said. He slid down his camel easily and opened the Route Marker. "_There is a golden scarab hidden in the ruins. Search for it, since it contains your clue._"

Once everyone scattered and started looking, Tamaki noticed some shovels lying near one of the ruins. "I think I'll go digging," he told his teammates.

"Me, too," Sasuke said, taking a shovel and heading to the nearest area where he could dig in peace.

"Don't you have a technique that can sense the clue from somewhere?" Chocolove asked.

Sasuke looked up from his digging and looked hard at the wannabe comedian. "I'm a ninja – not a superhero."

As Tamaki was digging, he discovered what looked like a trapdoor. "This must be a door to an underground chamber!" he said elatedly.

"It's worth taking a look at," Yugi said, although he already knew what was in it. He looked at his other teammates. "Tamaki and I will go down there. You guys stay here and look. Just call us if you found the clue, okay?"

Nothing seemed to have changed, except for the fact that everything was derelict as well. So far, the Millennium Items weren't to be found, and Yugi sighed sadly. What was he thinking? Atem will never come back.

"Yugi! Tamaki! We found the clue!" Kikumaru's high voice was heard from above.

"Good," Tamaki said once he and Yugi exited the chamber. "What does it say?"

"Um…" Eiji looked at the clue again. "We're supposed to go to someplace called Tuna el Gebel."

"Tuna el Gebel?" Chocolove raised his eyebrows, ready to tell a joke.

"Don't even think about it," Tamaki said ominously. "Come on, everybody!"

Chocolove groaned as they left Ancient Hermopolis in silence.

**»» WOOT! ««**

7:45 a.m.

**Team 7**

"Hey, Abarai-kun!" Yoh cried, waving to the figure standing by the entrance of the ruined temple.

Renji looked up, grinned, and waved back. "Hey, you got here just in time," he said. "Now don't ask about what you're supposed to do," he added before Ryoma could open his mouth. "All you have to do is assign one member to go to that small duct over there." He pointed to the small opening beside him.

"Well then, youngest first," Seto said, looking at Ryoma.

Ryoma glowered at him, but went and crawled in the small passageway.

"Be careful in there, Echizen!" Kawamura said cautiously.

"Right," Ryoma mumbled, crawling inside. "This is ridiculous … just because I'm younger or I'm shorter doesn't mean – wah!"

He realized that the passageway stopped, and Ryoma almost fell down, but luckily, he prevented himself from doing so.

He looked up and saw that it looked like he was in some kind of wrecked throne room. He groaned – this might take a while.

He decided to search in the throne first. And he was right – after putting his hand on the bottom, he pushed some kind of button, and it revealed more buttons.

All the buttons were some kind of hieroglyphics, but Ryoma didn't know which one – or which ones – to push. He shrugged and started pushing randomly, hoping his luck will help.

Luckily, he got the right one, and the machinery revealed some opening, and out shot the clue. He opened the clue and read it to himself – they're supposed to go to Mount Sinai, where the finish line would be, and they will still use the camels throughout the journey.

The Prince of Tennis sighed in relief as he tucked the clue in his pocket and headed outside.

**»» WOOT! ««**

7:50 a.m.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to use terrain vehicles instead of camels?" Ryoma asked when Seto settled on leaving the camels and driving the terrain vehicles once again.

"Aren't you going to stop him?" Ryoma asked Ann.

"I'm just getting your footage," Ann replied innocuously.

"The quicker we get to Mount Sinai, the better," Seto said, climbing onto his terrain vehicle.

"At least we won't get heat stroke or dehydration or anything," Yoh pointed out.

The others shrugged – since there's no arguing with Seto – and hopped on their terrain vehicles as well.

They reached Mount Sinai at around two hours later, and Kasumi and the other staff were there – save for Renji. Since he was still in Tuna el Gebel.

"Congratulations!" Kasumi said, smiling. "Your group has reached First Place."

"Yes!" Hikaru and Kawamura cried, giving each other high-fives.

"BUT!" Kasumi exclaimed, causing the others to jump. "Since you used terrain vehicles instead of camels to get here, we are giving you a four-hour penalty, and you will be serving your punishment tonight in Cairo."

"Aww…" Hikaru said regretfully.

**»» WOOT! ««**

3:10 p.m.

"Sakura, slow down, will you?" Haruhi said as she stopped for a while, gasping for breath.

Sakura stopped and looked at her teammates, who were panting as well. "Come on – we're not too far from the finish line."

Anna looked behind her – Team 3 was already nearing on them. "Break's over – let's go!" she said, and Team 6 got their move on once again.

"Look – it's the Finish Line!" Anzu said once they've reached the top of the mountain. "Looks like we'll be in fifth place!"

"Momoshiro-kun!"

Momo looked up and he saw Ann waving at him amiably. At that instant, everything went into slow motion for the young tennis player…

…Until he tripped on a rock and fell flat on his face, that is.

"See ya, Momo-chin!" Kikumaru said, his team rushing ahead of Team 6, thus reaching fifth place.

"Great," Sakura moaned, helping Momo up. "Getting lovesick at a time like this. Thanks a lot, Momo-chan."

"Now, the Egyptian challenge is done," Kasumi said. "So congratulations to Team 4, who are First Place once again."

"And now it's time once again for the reward-punishment time!" Orihime said happily.

"Winners can do whatever they want – shopping, sightseeing, or you can come to the Annual Flower Show in Giza," Kasumi said.

"And, for the punishment…" Kasumi eyed the Team 7 evilly. "You'll be doing fishing."

**»» WOOT! ««**

**AMAZING RACE**

**RANDOMNESSITY**

**(In the hotel…)**

**Rukia (stares at an item sticking out of Ichigo's pocket): **Ichigo, what is this?

**Ichigo: **Oh, that? That's a Squeeze Breeze.

**Rukia (takes Squeeze Breeze): **So what does it do?

**Ichigo: **You push that one button, and you turn the fan on. You push the other button, and you'll get sprayed with water.

**Rukia: **Why would anyone want to spray themselves with water?

**Ichigo: **To cool themselves off, of course.

**Renji (approaches them, looking angry): **Okay, spill – who took it?

**Ichigo (cluelessly): **Took what?

**Renji: **My newly-bought sunglasses! I just left them in my room and now it's gone! If I find out –

**Rukia stands up and sprays Renji with Squeeze Breeze.)**

**Renji: **What the heck did you do that for?!

**Rukia: **To cool you off.

**Renji: **I'll cool you off you little… **(chases Rukia)**

**Rukia: **Ichigo, I think your Squeeze Breeze is broken!

**Ichigo (sweatdrops): **Baka…

**ENDNOTES:**

i There is a seven-hour time difference between Australia and Egypt. So when it's May 17, 2 p.m., in Australia, it will be May 17, 7 a.m. in Egypt.

ii Actually, in numerology, you have to add up the numbers representing the letter – consonants only – of your name. So if your name is Kasumi, it'll be K 2, S 1, M 4. 2 + 1 + 4 7. And then the number 7 has a meaning about your Inner Dreams. Learned that from Arithmancy in a Harry Potter forum.

iii _**Pharaoh Atem**_: Yami Yugi's real name. Sorry for spoilers!

iv Yes, Chappy the Bunny has franchise!

v You're not supposed to open the pharaoh's casket. Egyptians believe that you will release the pharaoh's anger and a curse might befall on you.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **I'm updating early again! I did my fic when I was bored, so…

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh.

**»» THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION ««**

**»» CHAPTER 10 ««**

That afternoon, the groups scattered to hang out with their friends and they climbed to the plane that will take them to their hotel. Ann decided to hang out with the Seigaku regulars, and – by some strange, or maybe totally unplanned, reason – ended up sitting next to Momo.

"Don't do anything stupid, okay, Momo?" Fuji said, smiling pleasantly before sitting next to Eiji.

"Let's hope that this will be a fun ride, ne, Momoshiro-kun?" Ann said, her smile as amiable as Fuji's.

Momo simply nodded, as his brain had already turned to mush.

At this point, everybody were discussing whether they will go to the flower show or not.

"Renji, let's go to the flower show," Rukia said.

Renji frowned, thinking that the flower show is only something girls can enjoy. "Why?" he said. "It'll probably be boring."

"Because I said so," Rukia said, standing up. "And because telling nii-sama on you if you break your promise to him – remember, he told you not to reject any of my requests?"

Renji gulped. Fearing his taichou's anger, he sighed and surrendered. "Fine. But only if he goes as well." He pointed to Ichigo, who was resting his chin on his hand.

Ichigo glowered at his fellow shinigamis, particularly Renji. "Like I have a choice," he mumbled, knowing that he was only joining the two to keep them out of trouble.

Meanwhile, the ninjas of Konoha were enjoying a particularly quiet time – save for Lee and Naruto playing a round of Tekken in the plane's TV – when Sakura spoke up. "So, is anyone of you going to the flower show?" she asked, looking hopefully at Sasuke.

Neji and Sasuke's uninterested "Nope" chorused with Lee and Naruto's enthusiastic "Yes!"

Sakura sighed. So much for wanting some time-alone with Sasuke.

"How about you, Hikaru?" Kyouya asked, writing in his ledger. The Egyptian challenge somehow stirred him into setting up an Egyptian theme for the Host Club. "Are you going to the flower show?"

Hikaru shook his head. "Nah – it'll probably be boring," he replied.

"I see," Kyouya said cannily, nodding. "How about you, Haruhi?"

Hikaru's ears perked up like a cat's, and he leaned closer in front because Haruhi was sitting in front of him.

"Maybe," Haruhi replied, "but I have no one to go with – "

"I'll go with you!" Hikaru said before he could stop himself, and he looked down, red in the face.

Haruhi turned to face him. "But you said you're not going…"

"Nah, it's okay," Hikaru said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I'll go with you… really…"

"I'll go with you, too!" Tamaki volunteered happily.

WHAM!

"No, you won't," Kyouya said. "You're coming with me to the shopping center, remember?"

"Really?" Tamaki said, blinking. He didn't really remember promising Kyouya that, but since Kyouya has a better memory… "Oh… okay…" he said, face falling, since he really wanted to have some "quality time" with Haruhi.

Anna, meanwhile, made Yoh come with her to the flower show. The others just kept silent for fear of her rage.

In Yugi's gang…

"Hey, guys, maybe we should go visit Marik," Anzu suggested, remembering their Egyptian friend.

"Yeah!" Jou said, grinning. "We promised to go see them whenever we're in Egypt, remember?"

Seto sighed. "I guess it won't hurt to drop in on them," he said.

Mokuba looked at his brother. "That's right, nii-sama," he said, grinning. "You've wanted to see Ishizu-neesan, right?"

Honda blinked, expression excited at this new piece of information. "No way! Really, Mokuba?"

By now, half of the gang was staring at Seto as if a giraffe had just popped out of thin air from behind him.

"I'm sure Seto owes Ishizu something," Yugi said, totally clueless of what Mokuba meant.

Anzu could have sworn that she saw Seto secretly shot Yugi a grateful look. She smirked to herself.

The Seigaku regulars, meanwhile, decided to go exploring instead.

Suddenly, Momo heard a "Momoshiro-kun" from Ann. He looked at her, his brain still mush. "H-Hai?" he said pathetically.

"I don't have anyone to go with to the flower show," she said, looking at him with innocent eyes. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Um…" Momo scratched his head. "Okay…"

Ann smiled. "Great! So it's a date, then!"

"Wha - ?!" Momo exclaimed. "N-No… J-Just as friends…"

"Hmph," Kaidoh said. "It's obvious that you want to have a date with her."

"Aww, lookit!" Eiji teased. "Momo-chin's blushing, nya!"

Before Momo could complete his sentence, the pilot spoke up in the P.A. system, informing them that they will be reaching their destination soon.

**»» WOOT! ««**

6:15 p.m.

"So we'll be receiving our punishment today?" Yoh said, stepping up in the van minutes after they checked into their hotel.

"Uh-huh," Ann said, sitting beside Ryoma. "It's better to be punished now. Kasumi's planning on giving you guys the day-off, too."

"You know, Momo-senpai might get lonely without you in the hotel," Ryoma teased, smirking.

Ann grinned. "Oh, he can suffer my absence," she said airily.

They parked by a lake. It wasn't completely dark, seeing that it is only six in the evening, but the outdoor lights were already on.

"Anyway," Hikaru interrupted, "what exactly is our punishment again? I completely forgot."

Kasumi smiled. "Your punishment for today will be fishing!"

Ryoma, Hikaru, Kawamura – who have been fishing many times in his life, by the way – and Yoh all looked aloof. Seto, however, looked horrified. What a baby.

"Some guy was kind enough to lend you some boats," Kasumi said, pointing to the said boats – three of them, that is. "You're going to be fishing until eight in the evening. It doesn't matter how many you can catch, as long as you've caught something. Any questions?"

"I have one," Seto said. "Are we using a fishing rod?"

"Are you crazy?" Kasumi said. "We're talking about fishing for a living, not fishing as a hobby. And by fishing for a living, we mean using nets."

Seto looked more appalled than the last time.

"So, we divided you by two groups. Ryoma-kun will be with Ichigo and Rukia. Yoh-kun and Taka-san will be with Chad and Kim-chan. And Hikaru-kun and Seto-kun will be with Ann-chan and Ishida."

"What about you?" Kawamura asked.

"Oh, I'll be going back to the hotel," Kasumi said. "I need to do some last-minute preparations for the next country. Have fun!"

**»» WOOT! ««**

Rukia frowned, crossed her arms, and looked at her two companions – Ichigo and Ryoma – who were staring at the net, letting out irritated but simultaneous sighs. "Seriously – can't you guys show a little more interest in fishing?"

"Yay, I'm fishing," Ichigo and Ryoma said at the same time in bored voices.

Rukia grinned. "That's the spirit!" she said. She then looked around. "Now where did I put that camera…" Finally, she had permission from Kasumi to be camera girl for today, after a few tutorial lessons from Ishida, that is.

She took a step and slipped on a banana peel – that appeared from out of nowhere. She screamed and fell to the water.

"Rukia!" Ichigo was as fast as Speedy Gonzalez when he dived to the water. Seconds later, he surfaced with Rukia and Ryoma helped them up.

After taking a few breaths, Ichigo glowered at Rukia. "What were you THINKING?!"

"Well, I slipped so I had no time to think!" Rukia snapped. "Shouldn't you be at least concerned at my current situation?"

Ryoma went back to staring at the net, trying to drown out the disagreement between the two. He thought of the things he missed – Karupin, tennis, his Grape Ponta, tennis… You get the picture.

"Don't they teach shinigamis how to swim?"

"If you must know, I _can _swim! I learned how to swim with Renji back in Rukongai! I was about to swim back to the boat until you decided to play hero and save me!"

Ichigo blinked and settled with saying "Oh."

Rukia blinked for a moment, and then smirked. "Still… I didn't know you care so much about me, Ichigo."

Rukia could've sworn that Ichigo blushed, but she blinked again, and his face was of the normal color. "Baka," he said, looking away. "Byakuya and Renji will kill me if something bad happens to you."

Ryoma covered his "Yeah, right" with a cough, but the two ignored it.

Rukia was about to point out that Ichigo could beat her older brother and her childhood friend in a snap, but thought better of it.

So everyone decided to continue their fishing in silence.

**»» WOOT! ««**

The next day…

"Ready, Momoshiro-kun?"

Momo's jaw dropped open. Ann was wearing a white sleeveless top and a blue floral skirt. She looked really cute, and Momo's brain was turning to mush once again.

Ann's voice snapped out of his thoughts. "Momoshiro-kun, are you okay?"

Momo blinked and blushed. "Ah, hai. Let's go!"

While they were leaving the hotel, however, little did they know that someone – by someone, I mean a group of people – were following them.

It turns out that when the Seigaku regulars meant "exploring", they actually meant "spying."

"Mah, Tezuka and Kaidoh don't know what they're missing," Fuji said, his camera at hand. Tezuka and Kaidoh thought that spying on Momo was pointless and chose to remain in the hotel, where they discovered some tennis courts.

"Mah, Momo's all grown up now," Kawamura said, smiling.

"I have a question, Inui-senpai," Ryoma said. "Why do all of us have to wear sunglasses?"

"So that we can look inconspicuous," Inui replied, signaling the others to follow their target. "We _will _look inconspicuous," he added when Ryoma gave him a doubtful look. "It is not odd to see a group of tourists wearing sunglasses in Cairo." With that, he slipped square sunglasses over his eyeglasses.

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Hikaru!"

Hikaru turned around and saw Haruhi walking towards him. She was only wearing a shirt and jeans, and the hair extensions disappeared, but he thought that she looked okay.

"Am I late?" Haruhi asked.

Hikaru shook his head, smiling. "No. I came down here early," he replied. "Let's go. Kasumi said that all those who want to go to the flower show can ride in the minibus."

They boarded the bus to find that only nineteen people were in there. Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends were all present, as well as Yamazaki Kasumi and her friends; a sulky-looking Sakura was sitting between Lee and Naruto; a furiously blushing Momo was sitting beside Ann; and Yoh was being chewed out by Anna on the far side of the bus.

"Hurry up and take your seats," Siopee said. "We'll be leaving any second."

Haruhi went and took a seat by the window. She could've sworn that five people wearing sunglasses were staring at the bus. They looked a lot like Momo's friends, except that the serious guy with eyeglasses and the guy wearing the bandanna weren't there.

"Something wrong, Haruhi?" Hikaru asked.

Haruhi shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing."

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Hey, guys, I've got some good news." Yugi marched in Seto's hotel room. "I went around asking if someone knows the Ishtars, and a receptionist told me that an Ishizu Ishtar works at the Bureau of Tourism. She gave me an office number."

"Brilliant!" Mokuba said, grinning. "Nii-sama, you go call Ishizu-neesan."

Seto blinked rapidly. "Why me?"

"You wanted to see her, remember?" Mokuba said, looking at his brother with his big and innocent eyes.

Seto wanted to glare at his little brother, but he couldn't, so he settled on sighing in defeat and grabbing the hotel phone. "Give me the number, Yugi."

"Man, if only we could put that phone on loudspeaker," Honda whispered to Jou, making the two of them laugh. Anzu and Yugi stared at them, eyebrows raised.

"Hello, is this the Egyptian Bureau of Tourism?" Seto said, his voice controlled. "May I speak to Ms. Ishizu Ishtar? Please tell him that a Seto Kaiba is calling."

"Hey, look, it's a loudspeaker button!" Mokuba cried excitedly, pushing the loudspeaker button when Seto wasn't looking.

"Seto-kun!" Ishizu's excited voice rang throughout the room. "So glad you came to call!"

Seto realized that someone pushed the loudspeaker button and he glared at everyone, trying to find the suspect just by looking at their faces. It was futile, since all of them put on angelic expressions.

"Seto-kun? Are you still there?"

Seto turned his attention back to the phone. "Ye-yes, of course," he said. "Listen, Ishizu, I – along with Mokuba and Yugi and his friends – happen to be in the Grand Hyatt in Cairo and we were wondering if we can visit."

"Of course!" Ishizu said. "I'm about to finish work, so I'm coming home any minute. Do you want Rishid to pick you up?"

"Please and thank you," Seto said. "Goodbye, then."

Seto hung up and Jou whistled. "Man, was that an awkweird conversation or what?"

Seto settled on glaring at all of them before stomping out of the room.

**»» WOOT! ««**

The city of Cairo looked ornate as several floats paraded in the street, signaling the start of the Annual Flower Show. The contestants of _The Amazing Race _watched excitedly as they observed every float that passed by them.

"Wow, that float looks so cool!" Naruto said excitedly, pointing at the float with an arc in the middle, and a girl wearing something elaborate was waving at the audience.

"Look, those are orchids!" Sakura said breathlessly, completely forgetting her companions. "They look so pretty."

"Hey, look – cherry blossoms!" Rukia said, pointing to a float that reminded someone of the Edo era.

"In one way or another, cherry blossoms give me a disturbing feeling," Renji said, shuddering.

Ichigo nodded, shuddering as well. "Me, too."

Meanwhile, the people on dates were really quiet. With Yoh and Anna, the silence was just normal. But for the HikaruHaruhi and MomoAnn pair, the silence was uncomfortable – for the guys, anyway.

The parade was over and they headed to the plaza, where different exhibits were held.

"Did you like the parade, Momoshiro-kun?" Ann asked.

"It's okay," Momo replied. "I kinda like the float where there are a lot of orchids, though."

"You like orchids, Momoshiro-kun?"

"I guess. I like the cat's tail orchid better than the other orchids, though."

"Oh, look, it's an art exhibit…"

Momo was grinning widely – and by widely, I mean the grin was reaching his ears. He was really, REALLY glad that he was having a normal conversation. WITH ANN. ON A DATE! Can you imagine?

**»» WOOT! ««**

"We're here." Marik Ishtar swung the door of his house open. With that, he, Rishid, and the others entered. The inside of the house looked as simple as its outside, but it doesn't look like your typical Egyptian home. The living room had a couch, a few chairs, a small coffee table, and a small television. The dining room had a round table with really short legs so that those who will be eating will have to sit with their legs crossed.

At that instant, a woman appeared from the kitchen. She was wearing the typical women's clothes in Egypt – without the veil. "Yugi! Seto! It's good to see you again!"

Mokuba and Jou coughed suggestively, and Seto settled on glaring at them. He was pretty good at glaring these past few days.

"I just finished making lunch," Ishizu said. "Have a seat in the dining room. Marik and Rishid will help me serve the food."

Lunch was served and the group spent the rest of the meal eating and catching up on things. Jou started telling about his adventures in the show.

"And then when I looked at the sarcophagus, there was the flag!"

"It's a good thing you didn't open the sarcophagus," Rishid said. "It's an Egyptian landmark and you could get arrested. Last month, some tourists were arrested trying to open a sarcophagus."

"Egypt sure seems a lot severe when it comes to landmarks," Anzu remarked.

"That's because the Great Pyramid, the Great Sphinx, and all the other pyramids have been in this country since the beginning of civilization," Marik said. "It would be rudeness to tarnish the site even if the damage is slight."

"So, what's Marik and Rishid up to now?" Yugi asked.

Marik grinned. "Studying, mostly," he replied.

"As of now, I'm just in charge of keeping the house at bay," Rishid replied. "It's a bit dull, though."

Lunch was over, and then everyone proceeded to the living room.

"So, Yugi," Marik said. "How about a round of Duel Monsters? For old time's sake?"

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Looks like Momo-senpai's date is going well," Ryoma remarked, putting on his cap, since it's really hot right now. At this time, they were having lunch and they were sitting near the fountain, a good distance from their "targets".

Fuji was taking pictures of the two subtly. It was part of their "Operation: Spy on Momo for Future Reference and Blackmail." "Nothing interesting is coming up…"

"Maybe we should leave…" Ryoma suggested.

"No way, Ochibi!" Eiji said, grinning at the couple. "The fun part's coming up, any time now!"

"Hmm… it's possible that we're not the only ones spying on the two," Inui said, looking at the bush beside him. "Isn't that right, Shiomi-san and Takayama-san?"

At that instant, Saemi and Kim popped out of the bush, a video camera on Kim's hand, and a digital camera on Saemi's hand. "Hey, guys," Saemi greeted, unabashed by the fact that someone blew their cover. "Spying as well?"

"Yeah, but we have reasons," Kawamura replied. "What's your excuse?"

"Kim-chan volunteered the both of us to do a behind-the-scenes footage," Saemi explained. "So, here we are."

"Echizen? Senpai-tachi? Saemi-chan? Kim-chan?"

The said people turned and… Uh-oh.

Momo was standing in front of them, looking really baffled. "What are you doing here? And why are you all wearing sunglasses?"

"Um… we decided to have lunch here, Momo," Fuji replied, with everybody nodding at Momo.

"And, we're wearing sunglasses because it's hot," Inui replied. Once again, everybody nodded.

Momo looked at the people in front of him. "Ah, I get what you guys are doing," he said, nodding in understanding.

Kawamura gulped. "You do?" he said agitatedly.

"Sure!" Momo said. "Echizen and the senpai-tachi went exploring and Saemi-chan and Kim-chan wanted to film them. Correct?"

Eiji grinned. "Correct, nya!" he said, mentally sighing in relief that Momo was a bit clueless.

**»» WOOT! ««**

The sun was almost setting, so it was time for Yugi and his friends to go back to their hotel. Yugi won the duel – as usual – and was swapping cards with Marik before they left.

Seto took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Ishizu, may I have a word with you for a moment?" he asked.

Ishizu looked confused, but nodded. They both disappeared in Ishizu's office.

All the noise stopped and Jou and Honda peered at the office curiously. "What do you think?" Jou asked.

Minutes later, Seto and Ishizu came out. "So I'll talk to you when I'm done with this silly show," he said.

Ishizu smiled and nodded. "Take care, Seto-kun."

"What was that all about, Kaiba?" Jou asked curiously.

"Did you admit your feelings to Ishizu?" Honda asked, smirking.

If Seto's glare could really kill, Jou and Honda would be looking like zombies from _House of the Dead _right about now. Unfortunately for the young CEO, glares really couldn't kill.

"If you must know," he said. "I have offered Ishizu to be the manager of the Egyptian branch of the Kaiba Corp."

"Really? That's great!" Anzu said enthusiastically.

Mokuba smirked. "Nii-sama, looks like you'll be seeing more of Ishizu-neesan now…"

Seto turned a bit red. "Yeah, I guess…"

**»» WOOT! ««**

**THE AMAZING RACE: RANDOMNESS**

**(Hikaru and Haruhi are walking in hotel.)**

**Hikaru: **Did you enjoy yourself, Haruhi?

**Haruhi (nods): **The show was really great. But you didn't have to pay for the souvenirs that I bought.

**Hikaru: **Hey, it's no big deal.

**(Silence.)**

**Hikaru's mind: **Say it! NOW!

**Hikaru: **Haruhi, I –

**Anzu (enters hotel): **Haruhi, there you are!

**Haruhi: **Oh, hi, Anzu.

**Anzu: **Are you heading to our room now?

**Haruhi: **Uh-huh.

**Anzu: **Let's go together.

**Haruhi: **Sure. **(to Hikaru) **See you later. **(Haruhi and Anzu leave.)**

**Hikaru (goes to nearby wall and bangs his head there): **Darn it… darn it… darn it…

**Spanish Tourist (stares at Hikaru): **This is a very strange country…

Oohh, sorry. Can't resist suggesting pairings here. It just popped in my head.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **ARGH! I can't believe I wasn't able to update for five – or was it six? – months! I'm so sorry, you guys! I just started college last June, so I've been really, really, busy. Can you forgive me? Please? Pretty please with sprinkles on top and M&Ms, too?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh.

**»» THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION ««**

**»» CHAPTER 11 ««**

Abarai Renji was not amused. He was having the best dream of his life when Rukia suddenly woke him up. He was told that there was a meeting in the _Amazing Race_ head office, found in the biggest room in the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Cairo. Not that it was strange to have staff meetings. Renji just doesn't like to be woken up at one in the morning for a staff meeting.

"Kasumi!" It was Igarashi Siopee who spoke up for the rest of the staff. "Can't you wake us up sometime later? It's one in the morning, for Pete's sake!" As if to emphasize her point, she gave a yawn.

"Gomen, gomen," Yamazaki Kasumi said shyly. "Doganieri-san didn't realize that it was twelve-thirty at night here when he gave me this message." She looked at the telegraph given to her. "Anyway, it stated urgent, so I had to wake you all up."

"If the message is from Doganieri-san," Inoue Orihime spoke up. "Then I guess it won't be so bad, right?"

The staff agreed reluctantly.

"Anyway," Kasumi continued as she read the telegraph. "Doganieri-san wants to inform us that they have just hired a new staff for the show."

Ishida Uryuu groaned. He was lucky that the staff didn't hear him. "Not another one…" he muttered.

Kuchiki Rukia frowned. She didn't remember asking anyone to become a staff of the show. "Who is it?" she asked.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Kurosaki Ichigo, who was closer to the door, was the one who opened it. In front of him stood a girl with her jet-black hair tied to a red ribbon. She was wearing a pink top and jeans. She flashed a cheerful smile. "Konnichiwa!" she greeted. "Is this the headquarters of the _Amazing Race_ staff?"

Ichigo looked stunned. Where had he seen this girl? She looked familiar. "Uh, hai," he said. "Come on in."

"Thank you!" The girl went in, but not before giving Ichigo a small wink. At that instant, Ichigo's face turned into an interesting shade of strawberry-red. No pun intended.

The girl stood beside Kasumi and gave a small bow. "My name is Senna (1)," she said. "It's a pleasure to be working with you all."

"Konnichiwa," the staff greeted sleepily. Chad, meanwhile, noticed that Ichigo's face was red. He managed a small smile. _'So Ichigo's reached that stage in life now…'_ he thought in amusement.

But it was Senna who pointed it out loud. "Huh?" she said. "His face is all red!" She pointed at Ichigo, who instantly took out a newspaper from out of nowhere and hid his face with it. His disguise would have been credible if he wasn't reading the newspaper upside-down.

It was Shiomi Saemi who was able to put two and two together. "Aaahh…" she said in amusement. "So Ichigo likes someone else other than Rukia."

"NANI?!" It was Renji who had reacted so violently. In fact, he was already grabbing hold of the coffee table next to him and was looking ready to smash it on Ichigo's head. Everyone was looking from Senna, to Renji, to Rukia (whose face is already in the pink stage), then to Ichigo (whose face is bypassing strawberry-red to lava-red).

Tachibana Ann giggled. "I think the excitement could wait for tomorrow," she suggested. The other staff agreed. They could feel the impending doom coming up on Ichigo.

The staff left the headquarters and returned to their respective rooms at that. But all of them were wearing smiles of amusement, except for the people in question, of course. An interesting love geometry is about to develop.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**Team 2, 1:40 p.m., Zumbi dos Palmares Airport**

**The Challenge: **_Head to Linha Verde in Salvador, Bahia. Head to the huge white tent and look for Senna. Choose a Brazilian dish to cook and give it to her before the one-hour mark._

"Ne, Sado-nii-san."

Chad looked at the twelve-year-old boy next to him as they exited the airport. "What is it, Mokuba?"

"Didn't you come from Brazil?" Mokuba wanted to know, playing with the Brazilian flag the flight attendant just gave to him during the flight.

"Actually, I'm from Mexico, not Brazil," Chad replied.

"Aaahh…"

They climbed on to a taxi and sped off. Linha Verde turned out to be a beautiful beach. White sand covered the entire beach, kids were playing in the sand and in the water, and – to Jou's delight – Brazilian girls walking along the seashore in their swimsuits.

"Ooh, la, la, look at the women!" Jou cried, sticking his face on the taxi window to get a closer view. "Mama mia, I'm in love!"

Naruto snorted. "I thought you're in love with that bratty lady from the first team?" he teased.

Jou glared at the blonde ninja. "That 'bratty lady from the first team is named Kujaku Mai! And she's not bratty at all! In fact, she's the nicest, prettiest, most caring woman you could ever find! If you get past that catty side, anyway…"

"Ooohh, defensive, are we?"

"I'm not defensive! That's just the way she is!" Jou then smirked. "How about you? Aren't you taking an interest in a certain pink-haired girl from the sixth team?"

Naruto smirked back. "At least I'm not afraid to admit it to the world!""Are you two going to stay in the taxi forever?" Tezuka suddenly said. Jou and Naruto realized that they were still inside the taxi and that the rest of their teammates have already stepped out.

"Hehe, gomen, gomen…" The two stepped out of the cab and headed to the huge white tent not too far away. Inside, the third group, the fifth group, and the seventh group were already cooking their dishes. A girl, along with the cameramen, was standing near the entrance of the tent.

"So you must be Senna!" Jou flipped the strands of hair away from his hair and turned his charm up to 99.9 percent before approaching Senna. "And how are you, charming – OW!"

"Sorry about that." Ichigo, who was standing next to Senna and in front of Jou, picked up the camera which he had "unintentionally" dropped on Jou's foot.

Senna handed Mori a sheet of paper. "Here's the dish you're going to make," she told him. "You have one hour to complete the dish. Now, go!"

"We're supposed to be cooking a sarapatel,"(2) Mori announced as they headed to a table beside the third group.

Mokuba wrinkled his nose. "Eeeww…"

"Is it not supposed to taste good?" Tezuka asked.

Mokuba shook his head. "Too bad, though," he said. "It looked better than it tasted."

"Lemme see what we need," Jou said, grabbing the recipe from Mori. His eyes widened in shock as he read the ingredients. "Liver and heart of a pig or sheep?! Fresh blood of pig or sheep?!"

It was Naruto's turn to wrinkle his nose. "What kind of person eats that?"

"Apparently, the Brazilians do," Tezuka said wryly. "Uzumaki, grab a pig or a sheep at the back." He was the first one who noticed the livestock at the back of the tent.

Naruto groaned, but he headed to the back of the tent anyway.

The next few minutes went by without much noise. Well, save for Naruto having to chase the pig around the tent before it was finally killed. (Poor pig.) The rest of the second group has already prepared the tomatoes, the peppers, and the onions.

"So all we have to do is to mix the heart and liver with the blood," Jou said in disgust. He felt like he was going to do some kind of grisly ritual.

"And then mix everything with the tomatoes, peppers, and onions," Mokuba added after Jou mixed the heart, liver, and blood.

"Are you sure this is not poisonous?" Naruto asked Mokuba as they watched Mori mix everything together.

"Well, I already ate some during my last trip in Brazil with nii-sama," Mokuba pointed out. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Good point."

Finally, the dish was done. It looked pretty decent, the group thought. They just hoped it tasted good. They checked to see if they didn't go past the one-hour marked. They were relieved to find out that fifteen minutes were still left.

They placed the dish in the bowl and handed it to Senna. She looked at it, nodded in approval, and handed the clue to Jou. "Good luck!" she said cheerfully.

"Aren't you going to taste it?" Mokuba asked.

"Kasumi-san will be the one to taste the dish," Senna explained. "The group who cooked the best dish will have a bonus reward."

"Ooohh, I do hope we get that bonus reward," Naruto said as they left. The rest of his teammates nodded in agreement.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**Team 3, 3:12 p.m.**

**The Challenge: **_Head for the Mercado Adolfo Lisboa in Manaus, Amazonas. Pair yourself with another team. Look for Rukia in the entrance of the marketplace._

"Rukia-san!" Kikumaru called as they reached the entrance of the marketplace. "How are we supposed to choose our partner team?"

"Oh, it's simple," Rukia replied. "All you have to do is wait for the next team to arrive. That team will be your partner team."

The third team could already hear the quiet pleas of "Please, let it be Haruhi's team" from Tamaki. They sweat dropped.

Finally, they could see an approaching team from the distance. Without even thinking, without even checking to see which team was it, Tamaki ran forward, his arms spreading as if to hug… "HARUHIII!!"

Yes, he hugged someone, but it wasn't Haruhi.

"Get off of me, you monkey!"

"GAAAHH!!" Tamaki screamed, scurrying back to his team to escape the wrath of Kaiba Seto. The third and the seventh groups started to laugh at Seto and Tamaki, except for Yugi and Kawamura, who thought it would be rude.

Rukia held back her laugh by clearing her throat that caught the two teams' attention. "The two teams will cooperate with each other and buy all the items in here." She handed each member an individual copy of the sheet that she has. "You must buy all these within fifteen minutes. Once the market bell rings, you must return to the entrance for the Route Marker."

"Fifteen minutes only?!" Chocolove said in disbelief.

Rukia frowned. "If the task would be done in more than fifteen minutes, then it wouldn't be a challenge. Now, shoo! Your fifteen minutes begins now."

Yugi looked at the list. "Five tents… ten sleeping bags… flashlights… matches… first aid kid…" He looked up at his team and the seventh team as well. "I say we split up into two factions after we buy the individual stuff." Something tells him that they'll need each other for the next task.

After buying the individual stuff…

"I'm pairing up with Ochibi!" Eiji cried as he hugged Ryoma. Everyone could tell that Ryoma could die any time from suffocation.

Chocolove and Yoh paired with each other, since they know each other very well. Sasuke paired up with Kawamura, since the former thought that the latter wasn't annoying. Yugi was about to ask Seto, but Hikaru grabbed him and sped away.

Which left Seto and Tamaki as partners. Tamaki gave a small wave. "Er… hi?"

He received the coldest glares of all coldest glares, and he had to scurry behind a huge ceramic pot to defend himself. This is not going to be good…

**»» WOOT! ««**

Fifteen minutes later…

"Has everyone bought everything in the list?" Rukia asked once the third and the seventh team returned to the entrance. She looked around and saw that Tamaki was hiding behind his group while Seto was giving off a murderous aura. She smirked. "I guess not…"

"Of all the bloody stuff to forget, he forgot the bloody tent," everyone could hear Seto muttering. His group decided to stay away from him as well and temporarily initiated themselves as members of the third team.

Rukia took out a small pot with slips of paper. "Each group has to pick a slip of paper," she explained. "If you see a bunny face in your slip of paper – "

"By bunny face, it means a badly-drawn bunny," Ichigo whispered to Chocolove.

Rukia took out another pot and threw it on Ichigo's head. Lucky for him (and since this is a K-rated fic), the pot was plastic. "As I was saying," she said, "if you see a bunny face in your slip of paper, it means that you will be the leaders for the next task."

After everyone has picked, it turned out that Yugi and Hikaru will be the leaders for the next task. Rukia gave them the Route Marker and let them go and Hikaru rubbed his hands. He's going to have a lot of fun with him as leader.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**Team 4 and Team 6, 5:12 p.m., Amazon Jungle**

**The Challenge: **_Survival Challenge in the Amazon Jungle. Perform the challenges that the staff will give you and wait for further instructions about the next Route Marker._

"Ne… Ii-chan," Honey said, catching Inui's attention.

Inui looked at the boy older than him, but actually has the façade of an elementary-school kid. "Yes, Mitsukuni-san?"

Honey pointed to the two boys – namely Momo and Kaidoh – who were radiating high amounts of deadly auras at each other. What was left was that they go Super Saiyan and have a chaotic battle. "Have they always been that way?" he asked.

Inui snuck a look at the boys – now giving headlocks at each other and cursing at each other – and he nodded. "Yes, they've always been that way."

Megumi and Saemi looked at each other. "Am I supposed to be pleased or annoyed with the groupings?" Saemi asked.

Megumi shrugged. "Maybe a little bit of both?" she suggested. They then saw Rukia and Kim appearing from the bushes. "Hi, guys!"

"It's challenge time!" Kim announced, and the two groups gathered around her. "Come with us."

"I'm sort of nervous," Manta said as they walked through the jungle. "I have no experience of jungle survival experience whatsoever."

"Me, too," Haruhi said.

"I have a lot," Sakura said. She had loads of experience from ninja school.

"Me, too," Neji would have spoken up, if not for the fact that he wasn't a conversational person.

They stopped in an area covered with what looked like webs. The only areas not covered with webs were where they were standing and an area a good distance from them, where a lot of plastic bags were located. They looked next to them and saw that the remaining groups were also present – Team 2 and Team 5 were partners (with Jou and Honda hugging each other as though they haven't seen each other for years) while Team 3 and Team 7 were partners. Kasumi was standing at the far end, next to the plastic bags.

"As you have seen, your challenge is to survive for a day in the Amazon Jungle," Kasumi explained. "The staff has provided you with mini-challenges that may help your group go through the day.

"So for your first challenge, your task is to make your way through this web in order to get the loads of food beside me."

"Oooohhh…" some of the contestants said at the same time.

"Of course, there are certain conditions," Kasumi continued. "See those small bells attached to the web? A member of your group must not touch the web. If he or she does, the bell will ring, and you have no choice but to go back and allow another member of your team to try and get the plastic bag.

"Oh, and there's another perk," Kasumi added. "There are three mini-challenges in the Amazon Challenge. If a team wins two out of three challenges, then the team may disperse back to their original groups. These groups will be exempted from spending the night in the jungle and will only race for first and second place."

Kasumi could already feel the competition in the air. "So everybody," she continued, "choose the lineup for the web challenge. In a minute, the challenge will start."

**»» WOOT! ««**

**AMAZON SURVIVAL CHALLENGE**

**MINI CHALLENGE #1: WEB CHALLENGE**

**STARTING COMPETITORS: **Rock Lee, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Neji

The groups felt it was wise to let the people who are skilled with web challenges – they figured it would be the ninjas – to be the first in the starting line. So Rock Lee, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuuga Neji readied themselves. Little did the others know – except for their fellow ninjas – that these three are fierce competitors when either one of them was involved.

Senna started the clock. "So ready… get set… GO!"

Everyone held their breaths as the ninjas proceeded to move slowly but adeptly inside the net. So far, the three seemed even, until…

_TING!_

The three ninjas looked around to see where they could have caused the bell to ring, or if they have caused the bell to ring. As a result, they lost their balance, causing them to get tangled in the web and a lot of bells to ring. Everyone just stood there, sweat dropping.

"Um… next?" Even Kasumi was caught off-guard.

**NEXT COMPETITORS: **Uzumaki Naruto, Asakura Yoh, Haruno Sakura

Of course, Team 2 and Team 5, and Team 4 and Team 6 have a bigger advantage, seeing as they have _extra _ninjas. The challenge proceeded, and Naruto was the first to let the bell ring. Except for receiving words of encouragement, he received a slap from Jou and Honda.

Horo Horo was the next to proceed. Team 2 and Team 5 were now even with Team 3 and Team 7, seeing as they ran out of ninjas. Sakura was already in the middle of the web, and Yoh was barely a few steps from the starting point when the bell rang, so he had to go back.

Ryoma was next. The boy looked really reluctant to get himself tangled in the web, but Seto's Evil Eye told him to do so. Sakura was already near the finish line, and he was about to step out when…

_TING!_

"Oh, sugar sticks," Sakura muttered miserably as she headed out. Team 4 and Team 6 all looked sad. She was replaced by none other than Manta. If they couldn't win by skill and by speed, they decided to win by size. Manta didn't know whether it was a compliment or not.

_TING! TING!_

Everyone suddenly found that Horo Horo and Ryoma have bumped into each other and were also tangled in the web. They couldn't help but laugh before the staff pulled them out.

Team 2 and 5 decided to use size as well, and they picked Mokuba. Ryoma received Seto's Evil Eye in Level 10 before deciding on Hikaru.

It seemed that Manta was too short to step out on some of the webs taller than him, so he tripped, and _TING!_ went the bell. Teams 4 and 6 chose Honey.

But by then, Mokuba and Hikaru were neck in neck, already close to those heavenly plastic bags. Hikaru took a step, but that mysterious banana peel suddenly appeared, and… (3)

_TING! TING! TING!_

And Mokuba slipped out of the web and grabbed the plastic bags. Teams 2 and 5 immediately jumped for joy as if they had just won the Olympics.

"And so Teams 2 and 5 win the web challenge!" Kasumi announced. "Not to mention that they win the food."

"Oh, wow, look at that!" Jou's voice was heard. "They have chips and soda!"

"They have cake, too!" Honda piped up.

"Cake?" Honey said longingly. He then cast an evil glare at his teammates, the type of glare when he's at cake withdrawal.

At that instant, Teams 4 and 6 shifted away from Honey. One cannot be too nice when Honey has that Look.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**Team 2 and Team 5**

"One more challenge, and we'll be excused from surviving the Amazon," Fuji said as they walked through the jungle, towards their next challenge.

"And look at all the food!" Honda was looking longingly at the plastic bags they were carrying. There were chips, sodas, CAKE! Merely looking at the food was already making him hungry. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to grab at least one…

"Don't even think about it," he suddenly heard Kyouya say. "That food is only enough for a day. Plus, we have to share it with the other group."

Honda sighed sadly. They have already reached the area of the challenge. Senna and Renji were talking pleasantly. Rukia suddenly crumpled the piece of paper she was holding. Ichigo, meanwhile, was looking more murderous than ever.

"The aura suddenly felt so menacing," Lee commented, shuddering.

"Attention, everyone!" Orihime called. "The second mini-challenge will now begin. So today, we'll be having an obstacle course!"

Both Inui and Kyouya pushed their glasses upward. "I knew it," they said at the same time.

"Anyway, the staff has given you guys a map of the obstacle course," Ishida continued. "Your team will be separated into five factions, with two members each, and you will be stationed in the different stations of the obstacle course. Once the first faction reaches the first station, the second faction will proceed to the third station, and so on and so forth. So choose your partners and we'll start in a minute."

**»» WOOT! ««**

**MINI CHALLENGE #2: OBSTACLE COURSE**

**STARTING COMPETITORS: **Mokuba & Horo Horo, Chocolove & Yoh, Haruhi & Sakura

"Ready… get set… GO!"

The said pairs dashed off from the starting line. So far, Haruhi & Sakura were in the lead, with Mokuba & Horo Horo not far behind.

Haruhi & Sakura reached the first station. They found two ropes suspended in a cliff. Way below the two ropes was a landing pad. Just in case someone falls off. Anyway, Anna & Anzu were waiting for Haruhi & Sakura to cross the cliff.

Sakura rubbed her hands before grabbing to the upper rope and balancing herself on the lower rope. Then she began to cross. Haruhi did the same, although she was a bit unbalanced, so the rope wobbled as they crossed.

They managed to make it to the other side safely, and Anna & Anzu were off. Behind them, Mokuba & Horo Horo also made it safely, so Jou & Honda headed off as well. It took a lot of screaming on Chocolove's part before he and Yoh could make it to the other side, to be replaced by Eiji & Ryoma.

Mori & Kyouya, Yugi & Hikaru, and Honey & Manta were waiting in the third station. The faction from the second station had to ride a bamboo raft and row across the river. And did I mention that this is the Amazon River? The river was so wide and so long that it'll take them maybe a lot of time to get to the other side.

"Yosh!" Eiji cried in determination as they hopped on the bamboo raft. "Let's do this, Ochibi!"

Ryoma rolled his eyes and started rowing. Unfortunately, Eiji was so hyper, that they lost balance and fell off the water. Luckily the water wasn't really cold. And so, Jou & Honda were in the lead, with Anna & Anzu behind them.

Anna, of course, was a very impatient person. Not to mention that she's an _itako_, so she can call on spirits. While rowing, she chanted a bit, and two ghosts appeared behind her. These ghosts were once travelers who drowned in the Amazon River. But we don't care about them, do they?

"Help us get to the other side faster," she whispered.

The two ghosts saluted and pushed the bamboo raft. Anzu was taken aback by the speed of the boat, but she took it by stride. They got to the other side faster, and were replaced by Honey & Manta.

There was a problem with Honey, however. The poor boy was suffering from a cake withdrawal. It took a lot of encouragements – not to mention a lollipop in Manta's pocket – for Honey to calm down. Unfortunately, Mori & Kyouya were already in the lead.

The two climbed and crossed a bamboo bridge. Don't worry, they're not situated on a cliff – just five feet from the ground. Luckily, Mori & Kyouya weren't scaredy cats, so they managed to cross the bridge just fine. For Manta, however, there was a problem. He was an altophobic.

"Man-chan…" Honey shook his head as he tried to detach Manta from grabbing onto the bamboo as if he was stuck via Super Glue. By the time Honey & Manta climbed down the bamboo pole, they were in last place. Mori & Kyouya and Yoh & Hikaru were already _way_ ahead of them.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**NEXT COMPETITORS: **Naruto & Lee, Seto & Tamaki, Inui & Neji

"YOU WANT US TO DO WHAT?!"

Senna had to let her ears recover before replying. "All you have to do is crawl in the mud and find some key," she replied. "No big deal, right?"

Seto and Tamaki looked at each other in fright, but they didn't reply to that question.

"Sissies," Senna muttered, checking in her binoculars. "Ooh! Mori & Kyouya and Yugi & Hikaru are on their way!"

"What about Manta & Mitsukuni-san?" Inui asked.

"Oh, they're not far behind…"

The said factions stepped in the fourth station. "Do the honors, Seto-san," Hikaru said, smirking.

Praying to Kami-sama that they won't get infected by a jungle disease or something, Seto and Tamaki stepped down the mud puddle. They had to glare at Hikaru, because his hysterical laugh echoed throughout the jungle. "Shut up or I'll give you a restraining order!" Seto shouted before he and Tamaki started searching.

It took a lot of mud and bumping into each other before Inui & Neji found the key. They resurfaced and rushed off. Naruto & Lee, meanwhile, had a mud fight on who gets to marry Sakura before they got serious and found the key as well. Naruto won, by the way. Which left the two sissies…

"GAH! I've been infected!" Tamaki screamed and then fainted.

Seto rolled his eyes and continued searching, ignoring the shouts of _"Ew!", "Yuck!", _and _"Why didn't I get life insurance"_ in his head.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**LAST COMPETITORS: **Tezuka & Fuji, Sasuke & Kawamura, Momo & Kaidoh

Oh, you probably know who's going to win. But if you want details…

Obviously, when they took the muddy key, the last competitors proceeded to find the safes where the key will fit. As expected, Tezuka & Fuji did the searching in an organized manner. For Sasuke & Kawamura…

"BURNING!! WHO CARES ABOUT THE KEY? LET'S SMASH ALL THE SAFES! LET'S GO, SASUKE!" And Kawamura went rushing away, trying to smash the safes. But the safes were made of a very strong metal, so Burning Kawamura is just making a fool of himself. Sasuke just stood there, and when Rukia looked at him in confusion, he said, "I don't know this guy, okay?"

Rukia shrugged. "Fine. It's your funeral."

"Fuji," Tezuka suddenly said, "why did you bring your tennis bag with you?"

Fuji smiled innocently. "I figured we can have a tennis match after the Amazon Challenge."

"But why during the obstacle course?"

"Oh, you never know when it'll come in handy." And Fuji dodged BURNING! Kawamura's racket as he said that.

Tezuka didn't really understood what Fuji meant, but since they opened the safe, and they found a plastic bag with lots of bottles of mineral water. They grabbed the plastic bag and left, leaving the two pairs still trying to find the safe.

But what about Momo & Kaidoh?

"I say it's this safe!"

"No, it's this safe!"

"Why do you know?"

"See those key marks? They fit perfectly!"

"…Oh."

"You don't think at all, do you?"

"What did you say, Mamushi?"

"Why you… Fsssh!"

"Wanna fight now?"

"Yeah!"

CRASH!

BANG!

BOOM!

Back to our regular programming…

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Since Team 2 & Team 5 won the web challenge and the obstacle course, they are automatically exempted from the next challenge," Ishida announced. "Which means that the other teams will be sleeping in the Amazon Jungle for the night."

Teams 2 & 5 stood up. They gave each other The Look before darting off.

"So they still get the food?" Yoh asked sadly.

"Well, they _did _win the two challenges," Ishida said, shrugging. "So we'll be leaving you guys here to… er… survive." He looked at the rest of the staff. "Let's go."

The teams all sat in silence for a while. Then Naruto suddenly shouted. "The good news is, I get to marry Sakura!"

"WHAAATT?!"

CRASH! BANG! BOOM!

Inui, meanwhile, looked at Momo and Kaidoh, who suffered a few bumps and bruises. "And may I ask why the two of you didn't settle your differences?" he said.

"He called me dumb!"

"He called me Mamushi!"

"And because of that," Inui continued, "you two will be sharing a tent for tonight."

Momo and Kaidoh simply glared at each other, but in their minds, they were falling down on their knees and screaming "NOOOOO!!"

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Our first agenda is to find some food," Haruhi said as they settled in an area near the river. Everyone agreed that it was the perfect spot for camping.

"I could find something edible," Sakura volunteered, and rushed away without further ado.

"Some of us can go fish," Anna volunteered. With that, she grabbed a stick and a strong string from out of nowhere.

"And maybe some of us can find some wood for the fire and set up some tents," Anzu added.

Momo decided that he can go find some firewood. Mamushi can set up the tent. And before Kaidoh could say anything, he sped off.

"Ha! I got one!" Yoh cried triumphantly as he grabbed another fish with his bare hands. He looked at his teammates. "Are? What's wrong with Seto-san and Tamaki-san?"

"Being the sissies that they usually are," Ann replied, focusing her camera on Seto and Tamaki. The two were cleaning the fish, and they seemed to be disgusted for some reason.

"WAAAHH!! THE FISH! IT'S ALIVE!" Tamaki screamed. The fish that Tamaki was cleaning suddenly leaped, and Tamaki had to hide behind Seto.

"Geroff me, you freak!"

Yugi shook his head sadly. "Seriously, why do you have to pair the two up?"

Hikaru smirked. "It'll be much more fun that way."

The fire was lit, the fish was fried, and Teams 3 & 7 were finally enjoying the fruits of their hard work. A few minutes later, it was time to settle down and have a good night's sleep.

"Night, guys," Yoh mumbled, yawning, as he and Chocolove disappeared in their tent. The others disappeared in their tents as well… Well… save for Seto and Tamaki, anyway.

Seto was once again glaring at Tamaki. "Please remind me why you weren't able to buy the tent."

Tamaki looked around nervously for any possible hiding places. "We-Well…" He settled in his sleeping bag. "Don't you think it'll be better to sleep outside? The night is cool and the stars are shining brightly!"

Seto had to admit, Tamaki was right.

That is, until he heard a rumbling sound.

Tamaki smiled awkwardly. "Must be someone else's stomach."

There was a loud clap, and rain started to fall. Hard.

Tamaki fell down on his knees, threw his fists to the heavens, and screamed, in the most dramatic manner…

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Seto slammed a hand to his forehead, and started cursing which was bleeped out during the footage.

Seto and Tamaki settled on sleeping under the trees from both sides of the camping area.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**RANDOM MOMENT**

**After the Amazon Challenge…**

**Kasumi: **Well, congratulations to Team 5 for being first place, and Team 2 for being second! Sadly for Team 4, though, they are eliminated.

**Manta (to Honey): **Honey-san, don't cry… We'll see each other again…someday…

**Kasumi: **Team 4 has a punishment, though. They'll be working in a carnival in Rio de Janeiro.

**Momo (laughs): **Ha! I think Mamushi will be working in the snake department!

**(Others involuntarily laugh. Kaidoh hisses in hostility.)**

**Kasumi: **For the cooking challenge, the one who won will receive an all-you-can-eat promo in a local Brazilian restaurant. And that group is Team 2!

**(Jou and Naruto hug each other in delight.)**

**Kasumi: **For Team 5, you'll be guests in a grand performance in the said carnival. And… someone will be accompanying you. She's a huge fan of the show and has won the show's raffle promo.

**Senna (to someone behind her): **It's okay. You can come out now.

**Sakuno: **K-Konnichiwa…

**Ryoma (eyes widen): **Ryuzaki?!

**Fuji: **Ah, so Ryuzaki-chan will be dating us…

**(Ryoma glares at Fuji.) **

**Kasumi: **More of accompanying.

**Fuji: **I like "dating" better. **(looks at Sakuno) **Don't you think, Ryuzaki-chan?

**Sakuno (shyly): **Ha-hai…

**Ryoma's mind: **BOOM!

**»» WOOT! ««**

**N O T E S :**

(1) _**Senna**_: A character in _Bleach: Memories of Nobody_; auricachan's favorite ship for Ichigo at the moment, so she's a RukiaxRenji fan now. (_Saemi-chan, masaya ka na ba?_)

(2) _**Sarapatel:**_ The liver and heart of either a pig or a sheep are mixed with fresh blood of either animal; tomatoes, peppers, and onions are added and everything is cooked together.

(3) _**Banana peel: **_Ouran fans may have observed that in some episodes, a banana peel appears from out of nowhere, causes a character to slip and cause comedic effect.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**T H O U G H T S :**

I know you waited so long, and my writing may look suckis, so I'm really sorry. I hope this works out for you.

Yes, there's more Kaiba Seto torture, Tamaki torture, not to mention Ichigo torture. Can't help it. Tee-hee.

I'm focusing on IchixSenna, RukiaxRenji, MomoxAnn, and, yes, RyoxSaku!

For suggestions, comments, and reviews, please press that "Submit Review" button and give the author a bit of encouragement. Or you can also PM her via her profile. Thanks!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:**I'm so glad that people still reviewed, even though I wasn't able to update for six months. Oh, I love you all! **(hugs)**

**Replies:**

** Megumi no imoutou: **Haha, Arigatou gozaimasu!

** nekosaru & mariku-chan: **I can't guarantee updating soon. College life is super hectic! But I'll do my best.

** CrazyGirlofManyNames: **Yeah! Kaiba torture is so much fun!

** Saemi: **Ngek. 48 years na ba?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh.

**»» THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION ««**

**»» CHAPTER 12 ««**

**Copacabana Palace** (i)

The staff has recently noticed that the show has received rave reviews after the Egyptian leg, when they featured the contestants having "dates." So they decided to keep the tradition of these "Date Episode." This was the topic of the staff meeting in their headquarters, still situated in the biggest room of the hotel. But Yamazaki Kasumi, along with Yamazaki Megumi, Takayama Kim, Shiomi Saemi, Igarashi Siopee, and Tachibana Ann had other plans in mind. As soon as Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends left for lunch, the rest of the staff gathered around and started to plan something sneaky.

"So," Kasumi said, "approach the said people and tell them where to meet up. Once they meet up, give them a call, saying you're sick or have an emergency or something. After that, follow them until the end of the day. Got it?"

The rest of the staff nodded in unison and left to find their specific targets. Operation: Date Episode is underway.

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Ah, it's easy to say that convincing them will go well, seeing as they're already together," Saemi said, grinning.

"But what about Sado-kun?" Siopee asked. Ishida, Orihime, and Chad were together in the restaurant, the two boys watching Orihime gobble up some exotic food.

Saemi shrugged. "Then I guess we'll have to explain the situation to him." She approached the trio and flashed the smile. "Hey, guys! Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," Ishida replied. "What's up?"

"Oh, well, Kasumi-chan wanted you guys to meet up at the entrance of the big tent at 4 p.m., where the carnival(ii) will be held," Siopee replied. "And you don't need to bring your camera. Some helpful guys in the hotel will bring it for us." She then looked at Chad. "As for Sado-kun, Kasumi-chan might need your help with other things, so you're gonna have to meet her at headquarters first."

Chad suddenly had a feeling that filming purposes weren't the reason for the meeting. But he nodded, anyway.

"Okay! Well, that's just about it. See ya!" With that, Saemi and Siopee scooted off.

"It seemed like they were in a hurry," Orihime noted, mystified. "As if they're trying to get away from something."

"Maybe they need to notify the others as well," Chad suggested.

"Ah…"

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Are you sure this is the right button to press?" Renji asked hesitantly. They were asked to edit some footage of the Brazilian leg, but unfortunately, they have little experience of handling film.

Rukia watched the footage of Momo and Kaidoh beating the snot out of each other before looking at the buttons thoughtfully. "I'm sure that's what Ishida told me…" she said. "I'm really sure it's this one." With that, she pressed the red button. At that instant, the whole screen went black.

"What did you do?!" Renji cried, obviously panicking.

"Seriously, Rukia-san, what _did_ you do?" a voice from behind them asked.

Renji and Rukia screamed and jumped and looked behind them. Kasumi and Kim were standing behind them, with "sneaky" written all over their faces. "Ka-Kasumi!" Renji cried. "I-It was an accident! Rukia pushed the red button and – "

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "You pushed the switch, which is why the entire screen went black," she explained. Seriously, she didn't know why the two were hired as staff – they were technologically incapable! "You just press the red button again, and everything will be back to normal. But that's not why we're here."

"We just want to inform you that the meeting place for the filming will be at the back of the big dome, at 4 p.m. sharp," Kim said. "And don't worry about bringing the cameras. Sado-kun and a lot of other helpful guys in the hotel will be bringing them."

Renji and Rukia sighed in relief. Lucky for them they didn't do anything too wrong yet.

"Oh, and try to dress up nicely," Kasumi added. "We're still in a special event in Rio de Janeiro, and everyone will be wearing something nice. If you're out of clothes, you can go shopping – just take the credit card and go." She thought for a moment. "And that's just about it. See ya!" With that, she and Kim left.

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Can I at least know why we need to meet near the Tank of Doom at precisely 4 p.m.?" Ichigo asked as he looked at Ann and Megumi suspiciously. Something doesn't look so right. The two girls were smiling oh-so-innocently, so something must be up. Or maybe he's just too paranoid. He hoped it was the former rather than the latter.

"We don't really know why," Ann replied. "All Kasumi-san told us was to meet near the Tank of Doom at precisely 4 p.m. She told us not to ask any more questions. If you ask me, it would just probably be work."

"Besides," Megumi couldn't help but speak out. "Senna-chan said she'll be there, too."

Ichigo felt the blood rise to his face, so he took in the wonderful view of the beach from the rooftop. "Y-Yeah," he said, voice shaking. "So what if Senna's there?"

Megumi shrugged innocently. "Oh, nothing really important," she replied. "So, are you coming or not?"

"F-Fine…"

Ann and Megumi gave each other silent high-fives. "Well then, see you there!" they said, and proceeded to head to the door of the rooftop. They were about to open the door, when the door opened, revealing Momo in his regulars' jersey. "Konnichiwa, Momoshiro-kun!" Ann greeted pleasantly. "Playing tennis, I see."

"Konnichiwa, Ann-chan!" Momo greeted. After their "date" back in Egypt, Ann insisted that Momo call her by her first name. Even though Ann wanted to call him by his first name, Momo insisted that "Momoshiro-kun" is fine with him. "Hai, the regulars are having a practice match at the courts. Anyway, I've been looking for you!"

Ann looked taken aback. She blinked a few times. "You are?" she said.

Momo laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Actually… with the carnival… How should I put this? Anou… If you're not busy with work or anything… do you wanna come to the carnival with me?"

Ann was surprised. She was usually the first one to set them up on a date. But she was happy, nevertheless. "Sure," she replied, smiling. "I'd love to."

Momo looked like he was about to do cartwheels any moment now, but of course, he suppressed the urge. "Great! So, I'll see you at the lobby at 4 p.m. Ja!" He left, but not before Ann and Megumi heard loud screams of "YATTA!", "WOOHOO!", and "WHO'S DA MAN? MOMOSHIRO'S DA MAN!", and "I'M DA MAN! OH, YEAH!"

"Ooohh," Megumi teased as they headed downstairs. "Ann-chan won't be the only one doing the asking. Added to that, you know have a reasonable excuse for Operation: Date Episode."

Ann simply smiled as she stopped on the first few steps in the rooftop stairs. "At least Momoshiro-kun has the guts to ask out the girl that he likes," she said. "Unlike some other people I know," she added loudly. "Come on, let's go down."

As Ann and Megumi closed the door behind them, Ichigo suddenly sneezed.

**»» WOOT! ««**

Ryoma feels cranky and pubescent today, and the Seigaku regulars think they know why. The mood swings occurred right after Kasumi announced that Sakuno will be accompanying Fuji's group for the rest of the reward day. Currently, they were having lunch in one of Rio de Janeiro's best restaurants, while the rest of the regulars had a friendly match in Copacabana's tennis courts. Ryoma, however, looked like he was about to hold on to his tennis racket tightly, gain magic powers, and rid the world of the "evil" that is Fuji Syusuke. Lucky for Fuji that that won't happen in real life.

Ryoma was having a match with Eiji when Fuji suddenly appeared. He was clad with a blue shirt and jeans. At that instant, some teenagers began to stare at him, and they giggled. When Fuji turned to face them and smiled at them, one of those girls squealed and fainted. The regulars sweat dropped at that point.

"Hey, Fuji," Inui greeted. He and Kaidoh haven't left yet, because the punishment won't be until the carnival has started. "How was your rendezvous with Ryuzaki-san?" He tried to sound as casual as possible, and looked at Ryoma in his peripheral vision.

"Oh, the food was amazing," Fuji said, also observing Ryoma in his peripheral vision. "I had a great time, and so did my teammates. And _Sakuno-chan _seems to be a very sweet girl… not to mention cute."

"OCHIBI!" they suddenly heard Eiji scream. "I know you wanna win the match, but can you please stop hitting my body parts?"

"Gomen, Kikumaru-senpai," Ryoma apologized. However, his expression was more insensitive rather than apologetic. With that, the game resumed.

However, Fuji and Inui continued with the conversation. "Ah, so you're calling Ryuzaki-san so familiarly now," Inui remarked. "The two of you have probably talked a lot."

"Hai," Fuji replied. "We have talked so much, it seemed that we have known each other forever."

"WAAAHH!!" Eiji screamed. Ryoma's serve almost hit him on the face.

"Echizen, focus!" Tezuka commanded firmly.

"Hai, buchou," Ryoma said, and the match continued.

"You must be looking forward to going to the carnival with her," Inui said.

"Of course, I am," Fuji said. "Consider it as… a date between the two of us."

"ITAIIIII!!" Ryoma finally did it. He won 6-3. Not to mention that he hit Eiji in his… you know!

"I need a break," Ryoma said. He headed for the vending machine, obviously in a huff.

"FUJI!" Eiji cried, still in pain. "If you and Inui are gonna have a talk about Ochibi's love life, can you not do it when you're playing tennis? He almost killed me, nya!"

Fuji chuckled. "Gomen, Eiji." Then suddenly, he had an idea. "Eiji, I think I might need your help with something…"

**»» WOOT! ««**

"Hmm… that's weird." Ishida frowned at his cell phone, after trying to contact any of the staff as soon as they stopped in front of the entrance to the big dome. Behind them, people started trickling inside the carnival. But unfortunately, the person who summoned them to come to the carnival weren't there.

"Maybe they got sick or something," Orihime suggested.

Ishida shook his head. "That's impossible, Inoue-san," he told her. "Kasumi-san and the other staff looked perfectly well – "

Orihime's cellphone suddenly rang.

_Hold me tight konna omoi nara_

_Dareka wo suki ni naru kimochi_

_Shiritaku nakatta yo _(iii)

Orihime looked at her phone and noticed the number as Kasumi's. She immediately answered it. "Moshi-moshi? Kasumi-san, we're already standing in front of the big dome, and – "

She heard coughing in the background. "Gomen, Orihime-san, but I'm sick," she said. She heard another cough. "I must have eaten something in the restaurant. I'm afraid the shooting will be cancelled."

"Eh?" Orihime looked disappointed. She was looking forward to more shooting. "Well, okay… Get well soon, ne?"

"What's wrong, Inoue-san?" Ishida asked as Orihime hung up. He felt a bit bad, just looking at her disappointed face.

"I told you, Kasumi-san got sick," she said. Orihime sighed. "I guess we better get back to the hotel…"

Ishida's conscience was tugging him to his limits. He adjusted his glasses before saying, "Well… We could hang out a bit more… You know? Just for fun…"

**»» WOOT! ««**

"And that's another win for the young man!" the owner of the water-squirting booth announced. He took off the biggest stuffed toy in his booth – a pink bunny – and handed it to Renji. "Here you go, sir. Enjoy it with your girlfriend!"

Renji took the bunny stuffed toy and blushed a shade of pink. "She's not my girlfriend…" he muttered, but the owner of the booth didn't hear him. He handed the bunny to Rukia. "Oi, take it."

Rukia squealed and grabbed the bunny, placing it in her basket, along with several other bunny stuffed toys that Renji won for her. She was actually glad that the shooting was cancelled, since she was able to buy loads of souvenirs. Or, at least, make Renji win lots of souvenirs. Too bad her nii-sama doesn't like things pink and fluffy.

"Where to now?" Renji asked.

Rukia thought for a moment. Then she had an idea. "Let's go see the fourth team's punishment!" she suggested.

Renji grinned. "I've been waiting hours for you to say that."

**»» WOOT! ««**

Kaidoh Kaoru wished that he could be anywhere but here. He was sitting on a plank, above a huge tank called the Tank of Doom. Once someone throws the ball and hits the bull's eye above him, he will be plunged towards the cold water. Not only will he get a cold, but it'll be absolutely embarrassing!

He was so envious of Honey and Manta right now. Those two were only working as carnival mascots. Honey even seemed to be attracting a lot of attention. He sighed, trying to think of something positive. _'At least Inui-senpai's here, too.'_

Inui, while waiting for his turn, was looking at his notes. "If I shift my weight to the right, the possibility of falling will be 49 percent…" he was muttering.

Kaidoh decided to take his senpai's advice and shifted his weight to the right. But at the same time, he was praying that no one would step up and try to throw the ball at him.

But his prayer went unanswered.

"Ah, so this is their punishment," a voice that Kaidoh didn't want to hear spoke up. The crowd parted, and Momo appeared with a ball on one hand, grinning maniacally. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

Kaidoh gulped. This was not good. At all.

Momo took a few steps backward. He took a tennis racket from out of nowhere. He threw the ball in the air, and hit it with the racket, like what he usually does when he's serving in a tennis match.

Well, the ball didn't hit the bull's eye. But it did hit Kaidoh's face. Kaidoh would have maintained his balance, if not for the fact that he was caught off guard and fell out of balance.

SPLASH!

Momo sweat dropped as he watched Kaidoh get off the tank, hissing and throwing curses at him. "That wasn't meant to happen…" he said.

Ann smiled. "Good thing Kaidoh-kun's already going home, ne?"

Momo nodded. "Yeah."

"Here's your prize! At least, for trying to hit the bull's eye, anyway." A guy with a weird mustache suddenly handed Momo a teddy bear, although not that big.

"Here you go," Momo said, handing the teddy bear to Ann.

Ann gave a smile that made Momo's intestines dance the conga. "Arigatou, Momoshiro-kun," she said.

"Hehe… No problem," he said, smiling awkwardly. "So… where to now?"

**»» WOOT! ««**

Kurosaki Ichigo had to admit that he actually enjoyed Senna's company. At least not as a _date_-date, anyway. He even forgot to kill Kasumi for getting sick at the last minute. Meanwhile, the two had already explored the entire dome, and were now watching the samba performance.

"Wow!" Senna exclaimed. "Look at those pretty costumes!"

The next group of dancers now appeared, all dressed like peacocks. Ichigo and Senna watched them dance, which was executed expertly and gracefully. Even Ichigo was mesmerized by the movements.

They didn't noticed Saemi and Siopee sitting in a café behind them. Saemi had a walkie-talkie to her hand. Siopee, meanwhile, was filming the two.

"Ooohh, look how close they are!" Siopee said eagerly, zooming in on the two.

Saemi was about to agree when her cell phone rang. She recognized the caller ID and answered it immediately. "Hey, Kasumi-chan. What's up?"

"How are Ichigo and Senna?" Kasumi asked.

Saemi glanced back at the couple whom they were stalking. The samba dancers have invited spectators to dance as well, and Senna already pulled Ichigo to join. She smirked. "Oh, they're doing very, very well," she replied.

"That's good," Kasumi said, satisfied. "Listen, I have a scoop for you. You let Siopee-chan film Ichigo and Senna. I want you to watch Sakuno-chan and the person she's accompanying."

"Oh, you mean Fuji?" Saemi said. "Well, what about them?"

"I received a tip from Kikumaru-kun that a certain white-capped boy is following them," Kasumi replied. "Anyway, Fuji-san and Sakuno-chan are having dinner near where the fireworks display will take place. Keep an eye on them, would you?"

Saemi smirked. "Will do."

**»» WOOT! ««**

Echizen Ryoma is having a bad day. First of all, his Kikumaru-senpai dragged him into coming to the carnival. Then, when they spotted Fuji and Sakuno near the cotton candy booth, laughing and chatting, Eiji just went "Bui!" and decided to play stalker. What puzzled Ryoma was the reason why he decided to play stalker as well when he had all the free time sleeping, drinking Ponta, and playing tennis.

"Wha, the cake looks so good…" Eiji said. They were hiding behind a bush, just in front of the table where Fuji and Sakuno were sitting. Why there was a bush inside the dome, they had no idea.

Ryoma wasn't really looking at the cake. Fuji and Sakuno just started having a conversation about tennis. He frowned, wishing he had brought his Death Note. But that wouldn't work, of course. He and Sakuno may not have had a decent conversation, but at least he was able to teach her tennis!

Eiji saw Ryoma's expression and smiled to himself. The plan was going well… Now, for the finishing touches…

"Are? Is that a flying Ponta?"

Ryoma had no idea if that was true or not, but he looked anyway. Then Eiji squealed, "Bui! It is a flying Ponta!", jumped, and landed on him, causing them to crash on the ground, blowing their cover.

Fuji smiled at them. "Eiji and Echizen… What a pleasant surprise!"

Sakuno blinked a few times, then remembered her manners. "Konnichiwa, Kikumaru-senpai…" She blushed a bit. "Ryoma-kun…"

"Fuji!" Eiji greeted cheerfully. "What a coincidence, nya! Ochibi and I just happened to pass by!"

Fuji opened his mouth, but looked at his watch. "Ah, is that the time?" He turned to Sakuno. "Gomen, Sakuno-chan, but Eiji and I have something important to do. Is it okay if you go back to the hotel on your own?"

Sakuno nodded. "Hai."

"Well, see you later, too, Ochibi!"

Realization dawned on Ryoma as he watched Fuji and Eiji leave. He looked at Sakuno and the girl blushed again. And he could have sworn the urge to write Fuji-senpai's name on his Death Note disappeared as well.

"Are you hungry, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked.

Ryoma shook his head, but sat across from Sakuno. "Iie… Not really…"

Awkward silence.

Ryoma felt the urge to say something. "Ne," he finally spoke up.

Before he could continue, however, there was a loud popping sound. The two looked up and saw fireworks flashing in the sky.

"So pretty…" Sakuno said in fascination.

Even Ryoma allowed himself a small smile. "Yeah…"

And the two of them just sat there, watching the fireworks in the night sky.

**»» WOOT! ««**

**RANDOMNESS**

**Eiji: **I wonder how Ochibi and Ryuzaki-chan are doing, nya… I'm kinda curious…

**Fuji: **Let's just leave them there. I'm sure they're enjoying themselves. Echizen, especially.

**Eiji (spots something): **Are? It's Inui in the Tank of Doom, nya!

**Fuji (smiles): **Ah… We better go try it out then…

**Inui (sees Fuji approaching and gulps): **Uh-oh…

**Fuji (plays with ball for a while): **I'm sure you know that I haven't forgotten about that Aozu incident in the bowling alley… don't you, Inui?

**Inui (looks more scared): **Now, Fuji… I'm sure we can settle this in a… more civilized manner…

**Fuji (opens eyes): **I think this manner is more suitable for me. **(throws ball)**

**SPLASH!**

**N O T E S :**

i I haven't been to Copacabana yet, but I so want to go! Too bad I don't have the money. Huhuhu…

ii Carnivals in Brazil usually meant samba dancing and stuff, but I incorporated a bit of the usual carnival stuff, just for fun.

iii "Eternal Snow" from Full Moon wo Sagashite.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Hello, everyone! A lot of you must be surprised that this fan fic was finally updated after (what?) two years. Sorry for the long delay. My sophomore year of college was so stressful, with majority of my major subjects pouring in, not to mention my work on the school paper. Although I did say I discontinued it, I have planned to revive it so I can finish it and plot bunnies will not haunt me anymore. :3 I hope you'll still read and review. :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh!

**THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION**

**CHAPTER 13**

**Team 5 **(Fuji, Honda, Horo Horo, Kyouya, Lee), **currently in 1****st**** place**

**10:53 am**

**Somewhere in the air …**

**Clue #1: **_Head to the helipad of Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport. Take a ride on the helicopter bearing your team number. Head outside Kirkwall Airport in Orkney, Scotland to find your next clue._

"This is so awesome!" Lee cried as he snuck a quick look at the windows of the helicopter. They were about to land on Orkney, Scotland, and he could see a magnificent view of the mountains, the green pastures, the creeks, and the sea.

Fuji looked out of the window as well and smiled at the view. He took out his camera, and, while the helicopter wasn't moving so much, took a picture.

Lee grinned as he looked at Fuji's pictures. "You should totally upload those pictures in Facebook, after we win."

Fuji smiled. "Let's not get too complacent, shall we? The race is pretty much unpredictable; you never know who's going to be eliminated."

"Fuji's right," Kyouya said. He looked outside the window. "We're here."

They stepped out of the helicopter and rushed outside Kirkwall Airport. Honda instantly found the Route Marker just outside the lobby of the airport, and immediately ripped the clue envelope open.

"_Head to the Heart of Neolithic Orkney_ _using the cars on the second parking lot_," Honda read. He looked at his teammates. "I'll drive," he said, grinning. He will finally be able to put his driving skills to the test.

"WAAAAAIT!"

Team 5 turned around and was surprised to find Team 2 already halfway a distance from them. "Dude, how did they get here so fast?" Horo Horo asked.

"I don't care! We better hurry!" Honda said, already in the car. "Hop in, you guys!"

Kyouya hopped in the passengers' seat, while Lee, Horo Horo, and Fuji hopped in the back seat. They immediately sped off, ignoring Jou's yells.

~*~

**Team 2 **(Mokuba, Jou, Naruto, Mori, Tezuka), **currently in 2****nd**** place**

"Darn," Jou muttered as he watched Team 5 speed off.

"Let's hurry if we want to catch up with them," Tezuka said. He found the team's car and turned to Jou and Mori. "Anyone of you knows how to drive?"

"I'll do it," Mori volunteered. He waited for his teammates to climb up before he started the engine. He accelerated, and soon they were on Team 5's tail.

"Dude, you drive really fast," Jou commented, awed. He wished he could get his driver's license as soon as he could get back to Japan. He was supposed to get it last month, but a stupid grandma suddenly crossed the pedestrian lane during the driving exam.

"As expected from the Morinozuka family," Mokuba commented, grinning.

The two vehicles stopped in front of a huge green field with the sign "The Heart of Neolithic Orkney: A UNESCO World Heritage Site." Just behind the sign was a Route Marker.

Mokuba rushed to the Route Marker just as Horo Horo opened the clue. "It's a Detour!" Horo Horo announced. "Build or Find?"

"What do we have to do for Find?" Fuji asked.

"_Proceed to Maeshowe and look for five pieces of a runestone_," Horo Horo read.

"Let's do that," Kyouya said. The team rushed off to the west side of the area.

"What's for Build?" Jou asked Mokuba.

"_Proceed to the Standing Stones of Stenness or Ring of Brodgar and build a replica of a Neolithic house._"

"What's a Neolithic?" Naruto asked.

"It's more commonly known as the Stone Age," Tezuka replied. He was familiar of what a Neolithic house looked like. "Let's do Build." He and his team rushed to the opposite direction.

~*~

**Team 5**

Orihime was standing outside of what looked like a chamber. "Hello, guys! Ready for your challenge?" she asked cheerfully.

"More than ever," Kyouya replied.

Orihime took out a photo from her pocket and handed it to Kyouya. The photo was a stone piece, with five different symbols carved in it. Kyouya assumed that the symbols were runes.

"Look inside the chamber and look for those find the runes. Then, once you find the runes, piece them together and give them to me to receive your next clue," she instructed.

"Got it," Kyouya said. He looked at his teammates. "I suggest we go in the chamber all at once and split up. Then, yell if you've found a rune and wait outside."

"Sounds reasonable," Fuji said. He and his teammates already had their helmet on and a flashlight in hand.

Kyouya nodded, putting on his helmet as well. "Let's go."

~*~

A few minutes later, Team 5 emerged from the chamber. Orihime noticed that Horo Horo and Lee looked dazed. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"Apparently, one of the chambers had an intersection, and they ended up bumping into each other," Honda replied, stifling a laugh.

Orihime giggled as Kyouya handed her the stone carvings. She inspected them and nodded. "This looks right." She took out a box and handed it to Kyouya. "Here. Good luck!"

Kyouya opened the box. He found a silk flag, a crest, and a clue. The crest was emblazoned a bull's head with two flags behind it, with the motto "Hold Fast." He read the clue. "_Proceed to the location where the flag and the crest are associated with._"

"It's probably a castle or something," Fuji assumed as he looked at the coat of arms.

"Probably," Kyouya said. He raised an eyebrow when he spotted Team 2 speeding out. "We should look for people and ask around."

"Or we could Google it," Horo Horo replied, spotting a group of tourists holding a laptop. "Come on, we could ask if we could borrow their laptop."

Kyouya raised his eyebrow once more; for once, Horo Horo actually made the job faster.

~*~

**Team 7 **(Yoh, Ryoma, Hikaru, Seto, Kawamura), **currently in 3****rd**** place**

**12:14 pm**

"Heck, Seto-san, how did you know that we were supposed to go in Fairy Bridge?" Yoh asked as Seto sped along the road of Scotland. He was happily munching on his deep-fried Mars bars. (1)

"I have a book about it," Seto replied matter-of-factly. "The MacLeod Clan is a pretty well-known clan here in Scotland, and the 'fairy flag' was supposed to be one of their family heirlooms."

"So why the bridge instead of their castle?" Ryoma asked.

"Because of the flag," Seto explained. "Legend has it that a fairy gave this flag to her husband, who was from the MacLeod clan. This flag supposedly has magic powers and has saved the clan on a lot of occasions, such as war." (2)

"Maybe we're gonna look for fairies on this leg of the race," Hikaru commented, chuckling.

Seto rolled his eyes. "There's no such thing as fairies," he said. He knew he should've known better; he'd encountered things worse than fairies with Mutou and the gang around.

They reached Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye; it wasn't hard to spot the stone bridge. They hopped out of the car, and instantly found the Route Marker.

"It's a Roadblock," Kawamura said, being the one who opened the clue. "Who wants to bungee-jump?"

"MEEEEE!" Hikaru instantly shot his hand up.

"Yeah, thanks for volunteering," Seto said, rubbing his hand on his forehead.

Kawamura chuckled. "_Bungee-jump on this bridge and grab the box on the water below. That box contains your next clue._"

Hikaru already had the bungee-jumping gear ready, and was already on top of the bridge rails. "Ready or not, here I COOOOOOME~!"

"W-W-W-W-What just happened?" Team 7 turned around to find Team 3 just behind them, with a stuttering Tamaki. Seto rubbed his forehead again; he was never able to get over the incident with Tamaki in the Amazon forest, and therefore, does not want to see the guy again.

"I'll do bungee-jumping! I'll do it, nya!" Eiji said, already jumping up and down.

Yugi chuckled. "Go, Eiji."

By the time Eiji jumped down and squealed "Nya~!", Hikaru was already up with a black box. He rushed to his teammates, whilst opening the clue and looking shocked.

"What's up?" Yoh asked.

"The clue says '_Head to King Tut's Wah Wah Hut_,'" Hikaru said.

"And …?" Seto asked, knowing that there was more to the clue.

He took out a CD and showed it to his teammates. "This."

Seto looked thoughtful. Then he said, "Let's figure this out in the car. In the meantime, let's go!"

~*~

**Team 3 **(Chocolove, Eiji, Yugi, Tamaki, Sasuke), **currently in 4th place**

**2:01 pm**

**Somewhere in the road …**

"Wonder what this means?" Chocolove asked, looking at the CD from front to back. Ichigo was laughing his head off for some unknown, and he knew something was up.

"Try playing it in the CD player," Yugi suggested. "Maybe there are additional instructions in the CD."

Chocolove did as he was told. At that instant, the car was filled with music, and they could hear a woman singing "_Turn aroooound … Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming around … Turn arooooound …_" (3)

Ichigo's laughter escalated and he fell of his seat laughing. Everyone sweat dropped at him.

Sasuke gulped. "I have a bad feeling about this …"

~*~

**Team 6 **(Haruhi, Sakura, Anna, Anzu, Momo), **currently in last place**

**4:18 pm**

Since King Tut's Wah Wah Hut won't open until 6 pm, Team 6 decided to take a break and strategize for their next challenge. The first in their to-do list was to grab an early dinner. Therefore, they stopped in a café in Glasgow and munched on haggis, which, admittedly, didn't really taste as bad as they thought it would be. (4)

Haruhi was the first to figure out what their task was the moment they heard the song play from the CD. Visiting an Internet café confirmed this – they were supposed to perform in King Tut's Wah Wah Hut with the song. (5)

Anna was taking the challenge very seriously. In the span of the hour, they had bought matching costumes and had forced everyone to memorize the lyrics in thirty minutes. Of course, Momo was the only one who minded.

After their early dinner, they went to a park and started to practice. Anzu and Momo were having an argument because Anna wanted to add dance moves to their performance.

"It's just a few steps," Anzu snapped. "If we want to impress the audience, we gotta make it spectacular!"

"Can we just do a bunch of jazz hands or something?" Momo requested. In dance, he was the clumsiest person alive, and he'd rather not be known in the show as the man with two left feet.

"You can't just dance to _I Don't Want to Miss a Thing_ with jazz hands." Anzu put a hand to her hips. "A lot of fans will not like that."

"Momo-kun, let's just leave it to Anzu," Sakura said. "She's a performer, after all."

"I second the motion," Anna said.

"Eh? You're going to dance?"

Team 6 turned around and saw Ann, her camera off. Momo wanted to melt right then and there. Anzu, meanwhile, noticed Momo's expression and seized the opportunity.

"Ann," Haruhi greeted. "Where's Team 7?"

"Oh, Yoh saw JK Rowling and went to get an autograph," Ann replied off-handedly. "I went to have a little walk. Anyway, you're going to dance?" She giggled.

"Well, we're not sure," Anzu replied, smirking. "Momo's unwilling to learn a few steps."

"Oh," Ann giggled. "Too bad. I've always liked a guy who knows how to dance. Well, anyway, I gotta go. Bye!" Then she left.

"Anzu …" Momo suddenly spoke up.

"Hmmm?" Anzu said innocently.

"I wouldn't mind … learning a few steps …" he mumbled.

Anzu chuckled while Sakura and Anna shared a high-five. "I know you wouldn't. Now, from the top!"

~*~

**6:58 pm**

Team 6 arrived at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut an hour after its opening. They found Team 5 singing and dancing to the tune _Footloose_. Anzu laughed. "Oh my God, look at Honda!"

Haruhi sweat dropped since she actually saw her Kyouya-senpai dancing for the first time. She heard some girls squeal when Fuji and Kyouya did a dance move. She sweat dropped.

The performance ended, and the audience responded with a round of applause. Fuji went down the stage and his teammates followed when he headed toward the exit. "Good luck, guys," he said, and Team 5 was gone.

"Hey, guys!" Senna greeted. She was wearing a floral black dress. "You're the next one up. Impress the audience, and you'll receive your next clue. Now go up the stage."

"I am so nervous for this," Sakura said, adjusting the hem of her black vest.

"You'll do fine," Anzu said. "We've practiced for this."

Senna was on the stage. "Okay, guys! Give it up for the next team who will perform. Remember, be nice to them. Please give it up for Momo's Angels!"

Anna was incredulous. "Momo's Angels?!" She glared at Momo as they proceeded to the stage.

Momo grinned. "Hey, the team's gotta have a team name."

"Quiet!" Anzu snapped. The stage darkened and their performance started.

After a few steps to the introductory music, Haruhi stepped at the center.

_I could stay awake just to hear you breathing_

_Watch you smile while you are sleeping_

_Far away and dreaming_

_I could spend my life in this sweet surrender_

_I could stay lost in this moment forever_

_Well, every moment spent with you_

_Is a moment I treasure_

Just when it was Momo's turn, Ann and Team 7 entered the pub. Momo perked up and decided that if Ann likes a guy who could dance, he shall dance with all his heart.

He threw himself in a kneeling position and started to sing.

_I don't wanna close my eyes_

_I don't wanna fall asleep_

_Cause I'd miss you, babe_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_Cause even when I dream of you_

_The sweetest dream will never do_

_I'd still miss you, babe_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

Anzu raised an eyebrow. They didn't rehearse that. But she saw the audience roaring and hooting, so she shrugged. Boys will be boys when the need to impress girls is concerned.

Ryoma, meanwhile, facepalmed. He was experiencing secondhand embarrassment for his Momo-senpai.

The performance continued. The girls performed a few lines of the song, with Momo performing the chorus. Every time he would throw himself to the ground and perform exaggeratedly, the crowd would roar.

Finally, the performance was over, and Momo sang the last line.

_I don't wanna miss a thiiiiiiiiing_

The crowd roared and gave the team a standing ovation. They all bowed and left the stage.

"That was great, you guys!" Senna said. "The crowd went wild. Heck, one guy told me if you weren't performing for the race, he'd let you sign a music contract."

Anzu laughed. "It was Momo who deserves all the credit." She winked.

"Momo-kun, that was amazing!" Ann yelled from across the room. Momo felt that he just died and went to heaven.

Senna handed them their next clue, and they were out, as much as they wanted to see Seto and his team sing _It's My Life_ by Bon Jovi.

**F O O T N O T E S**

(1) _Deep fried Mars bars_. It's not a traditional Scottish cuisine, but it was often used to make fun of the unhealthy Scottish diet. I'd love to try one because it's deep-fried, and it's a Mars bar. Haha.

(2) MacLeod clan heirlooms. Aside from the fairy flag, the MacLeod clan has two more heirlooms – the Dunvegan cup and Sir Rory Mor's Horn.

(3) _Total Eclipse of the Heart_ by Bonnie Tyler

(4) _Haggis_ is a dish containing sheep's heart, liver and lungs, mixed with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately 3 hours.

(5) _King Tut's Wah Wah Hut_. This is the place where the British band Oasis was discovered.

I think I'm getting rusty. Haha. It's been two years. Sorry.

This chapter was inspired by _Glee_. The last few parts, at least.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Hello, everyone! My semestral break shall end in seven days, and therefore, I must update again because I know I will not be able to update soon. Yay …? XD

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh!

**THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION**

**CHAPTER 14**

**Team 5 **(Fuji, Honda, Horo Horo, Kyouya, Lee)

**Currently in 1st Place**

**9:11 pm**

**Clue: **_Head to Castell Dinas Bran and search for your next clue_.

"I wish some of you guys know how to drive, too," Honda said, yawning. He was tired from all the running and his eyes were drooping as he drove along the road. This was not good, since he might fall asleep, and the team might end up in some kind of accident.

"Turn left down the road over there," Kyouya instructed. He opened his bag and handed Honda a can of iced coffee. "This should keep you awake."

"Thanks," Honda said. As soon as he stopped at the traffic light, he took a sip of the iced coffee. He suddenly felt awake.

"I have more iced coffee in case you're sleepy again," Kyouya said.

Fuji looked outside the window and saw a sign that said "Llangollen." "Oh, look, we're in Llangollen already," he said.

"It's a bit dark in this area," Honda mumbled, slowing down the engine. He wished that there were more streetlights in Llangollen. It was a bit impossible to see the road.

"I'm seriously curious about this Castell Dinas Bran," Fuji remarked. "This is supposed to be a medieval castle, right?"

"Right," Kyouya said. "Legend has it that the Holy Grail is supposed to be buried amongst the castle ruins."

"What's so holy about a grail?" Horo Horo asked. He had just woken up from his nap.

"Well, the Holy Grail was supposedly used by Jesus Christ in the Last Supper, and it was supposed to contain miraculous powers."

"What kind of miraculous powers?" Lee also became curious.

Kyouya shrugged. "Who knows … But it's just a legend."

The team was silent for a few minutes until they reached Castell Dinas Bran. It no longer looked like a typical castle – it was more of ruins now. Yet, Fuji speculated that if they were doing the challenge in broad daylight, the scenery would look magnificent.

Honda rushed to the Route Marker and took out the clue. "_The Holy Grail is supposed to be buried on the mountain amongst the castle ruins of Castell Dinas Bran. Find a plate and a cup bearing the Welsh dragon and give it to Rukia. Once you've found all three, you will receive your next clue_," he read.

"Well, where _is _Rukia?" Horo Horo asked, looking around.

"Boo!"

"GAAAAH!" Horo Horo jumped when he looked behind him and saw a witch's face. He glared at Rukia when she took off that mask. "Not funny."

Rukia laughed, putting the mask in her bag. "Whatever. Now, go and look for what you're supposed to look for."

"Well, this will be significantly hard to find, considering that it's 9 in the evening," Horo Horo pointed out the obvious.

"Yeah, but if we wait till morning, we could end up in last place," Lee said, taking out his flashlight. "Maybe we should split up?"

Team 5 was surprised at Lee's logical suggestion, but since there was no other option, they proceeded to look for the items with the help of their flashlights. They were also lucky that Kyouya managed to find a map of the place and had it photocopied.

Honda hiked to what looked like the remains of the castle's tower. He figured that if the staff was going to hide some stuff, it would be somewhere in the castle remains. He stopped in his tracks, surprised that he was actually able to think of something rational.

Suddenly, he heard Lee's voice, screaming "I found a cup! I FOUND A CUP!" He looked at where Lee was, and realized that he was in the remains of the castle's gate. He grinned, realizing that his theory was correct.

A few minutes of searching, he stumbled upon a plate. He flashed a light to the plate and was glad to discover the symbol of a Welsh dragon on the plate. "Guys, I found the plate!" he yelled.

"Good!" Kyouya yelled back. "Now get down here and let's go!"

~*~

**Team 6 **(Haruhi, Sakura, Anna, Anzu, Momo)

**Currently in 2nd place**

**10:56 pm**

**Clue: **_Head to Vale of Rheidol Railway Station and take a ride until you reach Devil's Bridge, Ceredigon_.

Lucky for Team 6, they were able to board the 10:56 train just minutes before it left. It was lucky because the next train will leave at 12:26 am, and that meant the possibility of being in last place.

They entered the train and found that Team 5 was already seated. They decided to be on friendly terms, since they won't be racing again until they reach Ceredigon.

"Yo, Anna!" Horo Horo greeted, his mouth full of food.

Anna looked disgusted, then looked away. She could stand her fiancé when his mouth was full of food, but not … other people.

"Saa … Momo, how's the performance at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut?" Fuji asked cordially. He had heard of Momo's … enthusiasm on stage.

Momo grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "It was great, actually! Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Rumor has it that he was trying to impress someone from the camera crew," Anna said, smirking. She sat down a chair and fumbled her beaded necklace.

"I just wanted to win, that's all …" Momo mumbled, looking out at the window.

Fuji chuckled. "Ah, Momo, it's okay. It's natural for a man to do anything to impress a girl. Not that I've done it, of course," he added, chuckling again.

Honda face palmed. He thought Fuji actually did something stupid to impress a girl. That would really be a nice story.

Teams 5 and 6 then fell into complete silence as the train sped off to Ceredigon.

~*~

**Team 7 **(Yoh, Ryoma, Hikaru, Seto, Kawamura)

**Currently in 3rd place**

**2:26 am**

**Ceredigon, Wales**

**Clue: **_Head to Hafod Arms Hotel in Ceredigon. This location will serve as your Semi-Pit Stop. Stay there for ten hours from our time of arrival in the hotel_.

"Finally, a break," Ryoma sighed in relief. They were outside the Devil's Bridge train station, while Seto hailed for a cab.

Yoh looked around and spotted the other teams get out of the station. "He better hurry. The other teams are here."

"Cab's here. Move it!" they heard Seto yell.

They arrived at the Hafod Arms Hotel at 3:11 am. They could see Teams 5 and 6 in the lobby, with Kyouya and Fuji talking to the receptionist.

"Yo, Kyouya-senpai!" Hikaru greeted. "Why don't you reserve a room for us as well?" he teased.

"As a matter of fact, we did," Kyouya replied. "For everyone, actually. We decided that if we reserve a group room, it'll be much cheaper."

"Plus, we get to stay with some of our friends for at least ten hours or so," Fuji said, smiling.

"I like the idea," Kawamura said. "I better go tell the other teams." He left the lobby.

~*~

Sasuke was the first to enter the group room. He found himself in a huge lobby, complete with a couch and a television. On the right was a huge kitchen and a dining table. There were six rooms down a hallway, presumably the bedrooms, with one bathroom in each room.

He threw his bag in the room closest to the lobby and threw himself down the sofa in the room. He was asleep a few minutes later.

"This is so sweet!" Jou cried as he threw himself on the couch of the lobby. He turned on the TV and the TV switched on to _Britain's Got Talent_. Some ugly woman was singing some opera song and Simon Cowell was clearly shocked. (1)

"I wish I could just stay here instead of finishing some race," Ryoma said, heading to the fridge. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw a can of Grape Ponta.

"Guys, I'll turn in now," Anzu said to her teammates. "Set your alarm clocks to 8. We'll have breakfast, chill a bit, then leave at 1:56, okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am," the rest of Team 6 replied. Then they went to the kitchen for a quick snack before bedtime.

~*~

**Team 3 **(Chocolove, Eiji, Yugi, Tamaki, Sasuke)

**Currently in 4th Place**

**1:26 pm**

**Clue: Fast Forward. **_Head to Pembroke Castle in Pembroke, Wales_.

**Clue: **_Head to Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales_.

Yugi blinked when he read the clue. A Fast Forward? He really thought that teams in first place would be the ones who'll get that clue. "So, shall we do it?" he asked his teammates. (2)

"We should!" Chocolove said. "This is our ticket to first place! Get it? Ticket?"

"I don't think you were even joking," Yugi said.

"Yeah, I wasn't," Chocolove said sadly as they rushed out of the hotel.

~*~

**Team 2 **(Mokuba, Jou, Mori, Tezuka, Naruto)

**Currently in last place**

**3:18 pm**

**Millennium Stadium**

**Clue: **_Roadblock. Who's got the need for speed? One team member must race a car or a motorcycle. Finish five laps around the stadium within three minutes. Once done, you will receive your next clue_.

The Millennium Stadium reminded Tezuka of a smaller version of the Coliseum in Rome. They entered the stadium and they saw the other teams cheering on their teammates who were about to finish their five laps around the stadium. Team 2 chose Mori because he was trained for combat, and extreme racing.

"Yo, Sakura!" Naruto skipped over to the love of his life. "How you guys doing?"

Sakura smiled. "Well, Anzu's got the hang of it. I just hope she finishes within three minutes."

"Sorry!" Rukia yelled at Anzu. "You need to start over. Your time was 3 minutes, 33 seconds."

They heard Anzu swear, which was a first.

"You can do it, Anzu!" Sakura cheered.

Tezuka was surprised when Mori suddenly emerged from the arena without a sweat. "You're done already?"

Mori nodded. Tezuka looked at the arena one more time and saw that Rukia's jaw was dropping. So were the jaws of the other people in the stadium.

Anyway, Mori handed Tezuka the clue, and he couldn't be help but be amused at the other people's reactions. So far, they were in second place.

~*~

**F O O T N O T E S**

(1) For non-_Britain's Got Talent_-watchers, I was referring to Susan Boyle. She's one heck of a singer, yes? ;)

(2) If teams choose to do Fast Forward, they'll automatically be led to the Pit Stop and most likely be in first place. Most likely.

Sorry if it's not much. I'll make it up in Chapter 15. Hihi.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Okay, so my Chapter 14 is a bit suckish. I'll make it up to you guys in this chapter. Told you I'm getting rusty. Haha.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh!

**THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION**

**CHAPTER 15**

**Team 6 **(Haruhi, Sakura, Anna, Anzu, Momo)

**Currently in 2nd Place**

**5:43 pm**

"What do you know?" Anna said as the car sped along the highway leading to York, England. "We're actually in second place now." Despite lagging behind Team 2 earlier, they managed to catch up after Team 2's car had a flat tire. Anna reminded herself to thank some random spirit who passed by the stadium earlier.

"It's too bad we didn't get the Fast Forward clue though," Anzu said. She accelerated the speed of the car; York doesn't look too far away.

"As long as we don't get eliminated at this point, then I think second place doesn't seem so bad," Anna said. Her other teammates nodded in agreement.

They finally entered York, England. Anzu turned a corner and they saw York Minster, the destination of their next clue. York Minster was a grand Gothic cathedral, its transept and crossing tower standing regally over the area.

Anzu parked the car not too far from the cathedral, and by the time she caught up with her teammates, Haruhi was already reading the clue.

"It's a Roadblock," Haruhi announced. "Two team members must go up the north-west tower and the south-west tower and count the number of bells in each tower. They must present the number of bells to Renji, who is standing on the astronomical clock. If the number of bells is correct, they will receive their next clue."

"I'll do it," Momo volunteered.

"Me, too," Anzu said. "Come on, Momo. Let's go find those towers."

~*~

Momo volunteered to count the number of bells in the north-west tower. He smiled at the elaborate design of the tower windows. He had never been inside a cathedral before, and he was glad he was able to explore a cathedral with a design as wonderful as the York Minster's.

Momo snapped back to reality when the bells suddenly rang. He had almost forgotten that he was competing in a race. He took out a pen and a piece of paper and proceeded to count.

"Let's see …" Momo spotted a huge bell, which probably weighed about ten tons. "That's one." (1)

Momo climbed to the top of the tower and found more bells. The bells were ringing some song, and Momo was sure it wasn't church song. Anyway, he went back to counting. He triple-checked before going down and writing the number 7 in the piece of paper.

He ran into Anzu, who just came down from the south-west tower. She smiled. "You done?" Momo nodded, and they proceeded to look for the astronomical clock.

They didn't go far in the York Minster to find the astronomical clock. Renji was there, fumbling with the clock's buttons. "Yo, Renji!" Momo yelled. Some of the people in the cathedral glared at him, as most of them were silently praying.

Renji looked at the pieces of paper Anzu and Momo gave him. He gave them a thumbs-up and handed them the clue. "Here you go."

Once Anzu and Momo reunited with their teammates, Anzu opened the clue. "_Head to Trafford Centre in Manchester England_," she read. "Let's go!" They rushed out of the cathedral, running into some of Team 7, who were still waiting for Ryoma and Seto to finish counting the bells.

~*~

**Team 7 **(Yoh, Ryoma, Hikaru, Seto, Kawamura)

**Currently in 3rd place**

**7:28 pm**

"Yo, Ryoma, you okay?" Hikaru asked as Seto drove towards Manchester.

Ryoma rubbed his head, the bells of York Minster still ringing in his head. "I need an aspirin," he mumbled.

"You should nap it off," Hikaru suggested. "Then we could buy some aspirin when we get to Trafford Centre."

"Too late for napping," Seto said. "We're here."

Seto parked the car and was about to rush inside when Kawamura spotted the store directory outside Trafford Centre, where a Route Marker was located. "_Search for a shop named Fossil_," Kawamura read. He looked at the store directory. "That's on the second floor." He continued reading the clue. "_Find a person wearing a clothing item that will be given to you by the store clerk. Once you've found him/her, take him to the store to receive your next clue_."

Ryoma entered the centre and whistled. It was almost eight, and there were thousands of people inside. "This is like finding a needle in a haystack," he remarked.

"Well, we won't know for sure until we actually get that clothing item," Hikaru said, leading the way towards the store called Fossil.

~*~

Team 7 was given a gray Remington peacoat. They were now in the food court, looking for someone wearing that Remington peacoat, and stacking up on food at the same time.

Seto was frowning. "You're right. This is like finding a needle in a haystack."

"Hikaru!"

Hikaru found the voice familiar. He turned around and his heartbeat doubled at the sight of Haruhi, sipping a soda. "Ah, Haruhi. Any luck with the challenge?"

Haruhi shrugged. "Not really." She was holding a pink Jenni shirt, and Hikaru presumed that her team was supposed to find someone wearing that. "The girls are having a fun time, though."

Hikaru chuckled. He noticed that Haruhi's teammates – sans Momo – were really enthusiastic with looking at what people were wearing. "Guess that's inborn in girls."

"Apparently I don't have that inborn love for clothes," Haruhi laughed.

"Wait, what is _she _wearing?" they heard Sakura say. "That clashes with her shoes!"

"Why the heck is _he_ wearing orange?" Anna piped up. Haruhi and Hikaru sweat dropped.

"Wait a minute," Hikaru said, suddenly realizing something. "My mom designs clothes. This shouldn't be too hard."

Kawamura sweat dropped. "Well, at least you realize it now than never," he said.

"Oh, wait, I think I found the person," Haruhi said, leaving. Hikaru didn't notice her, however. He was too busy looking at the detail of the peacoat, then looking around among the sea of crowd.

Suddenly, he spotted him. The guy was wearing a gray Remington peacoat.

"Found him, Haruhi," Hikaru said. He looked beside him and realized that Haruhi was gone. He sighed sadly and approached the guy. "Excuse me."

The guy looked at him. "You want something?"

"We're in a race, and we're looking for someone wearing a peacoat like that," Hikaru explained. "Do you mind coming with us?"

The guy blinked, not sure if Hikaru was on a race or he was about to be kidnapped. "Um … sure."

"Great," Hikaru said. "Oi, guys! I found the guy! Let's go back to the store!"

Once back at the store, the store clerk gave them their next clue, which was a John Lennon album entitled _Menlove Ave_. and the clue. The clue instructed them to go to the homes of the Beatles members, grab a photo of that Beatles member, piece it together, and give the photo to Rukia, who was waiting in Sefton Park.

~*~

**Team 2 **(Mokuba, Jou, Mori, Tezuka, Naruto)

**Currently in 4th place**

**10:13 pm**

Team 2 reached 251 Menlove Avenue just as Team 7 left the same place. "Get the photo," Tezuka instructed Naruto. (2)

A few minutes later, Naruto returned with a photo of John Lennon. "Where now?" he asked.

"We could go to 20 Forthlin Road, where Sir Paul McCartney lives," Mori spoke up, causing Jou and Naruto to jump.

"Well, you're the boss," Jou said, shrugging. Mori started the engine and they headed to Forthlin Road.

They arrived at 20 Forthlin Road in a span of 15 minutes. This time, Jou volunteered to go, after promises to Tezuka of not breaking anything.

Jou entered the house and was awed. He was a secret Beatles fan, and it felt so awesome to be in the place where the Beatles members wrote their songs. He felt like he died and went to heaven.

Anyway, he shook his head and tried to focus. He looked around the hallway in search for Paul McCartney's photo. Finally, he found it in the dining room. He snatched one and left.

"Good job," Tezuka said as Jou quickly got inside with the photo.

Mori drove them to two more places – 10 Arnold Grove and 10 Admiral Grove. Finally, they managed to also get the photos of George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Mori proceeded to Sefton Park.

Once at Sefton Park, they proceeded to the Palm House, which was a three-tier dome conservatory. Instantly, they found Rukia eating scones and playing with an albino rabbit, which didn't really surprise them.

Jou handed her the photo. Rukia looked at it, then handed him a clue. "Now go and leave me alone with Chappy!"

"But that's not even Chappy," Jou remarked.

WHAM!

Jou joined his team with a fresh bump in the head.

~*~

**Team 5 **(Fuji, Honda, Horo Horo, Kyouya, Lee)

**Currently in last place**

**11:58**

**Clue: **_Suit up and head to the Pump Room in Bath_.

"So … do we have to take a bath in this challenge?" Lee asked, rereading the clue.

Honda swatted Lee's head with his head. "Shut up," he said. "You're the reason why we're in last place."

"Hey, I lost the map. Big deal!" Lee said defensively.

They remained in silence as Honda parked the car in a gasoline station in Bath. The Pump Room restaurant won't open until 9:30 am, so they decided to turn in for the night. They were lucky, since Kyouya told them to keep the formal suits that they wore in the Sydney Opera House, and thus, no more hassle of buying formal wear.

Honda stretched, leaned back his chair and dozed off.

The next thing he knew, Kyouya was shaking him awake. Honda looked at the car clock and realized that it was already 7:30 in the morning.

"Freshen up and get dressed," Kyouya instructed. "Oh, and don't eat too much right now. I believe we'll be doing a lot of eating in this challenge."

"I hope they won't make us eat snails," Lee said.

"Dude, French people eat snails, not British people!" Horo Horo said, yawning.

Once everyone was suited up, they drove off. Honda checked the newly-bought map and was able to find the Pump Room with ease. After parking, they found the other teams, all suited up. "Yo, guys! Ready to eat?"

Yoh's stomach grumbled. "Does that answer your question?" he asked, grinning.

Honda found his best friend, Jou, and they chest bumped and did their handshake. "Man, finally! A challenge where all we're gonna do is eat!"

A few minutes later, the restaurant door opened, and all the teams proceeded inside the fancy restaurant. They found out that a table has been reserved for each team, with the clue placed at the middle of the table.

Horo Horo opened their team's clue. "_Order the Traditional Pump Room tea. The team must be able to finish the meal in seven minutes, or else they will have to finish another set. Once done, each team member must drink five cups of the mineral water from the sacred springs. Once done, the water will give you your next clue_."

"I trust that we'll be able to do this in less than seven minutes?" Fuji said, a glint in his eye. The team was lucky to have four people who love to eat, himself included.

Lee smirked. "Heck, we can do this in three minutes!"

Sasuke heard him and mumbled, "Show-off."

The waiter indicated for them to start, and the teams started to eat scones filled with jam and cream, and drink cream tea. Horo Horo thought this challenge was his most favorite one yet – they got to eat something that isn't disgusting, even if there was a time limit? Why couldn't all eating challenges be like this?

Sure enough, Team 5 was finished eating after three minutes. They then proceeded to the restaurant's fountain, where a waiter gave them each a cup. Each member took a cupful of water and drunk at the same time.

Lee was the first to react, his face all scrunched up. "It tastes … weird," he remarked.

"But sir," the waiter replied, "it's supposed to cure all illnesses."

Kyouya raised an eyebrow, skeptical as ever. "Guys, four more cups to drink. Just tolerate the taste, all right?" From his peripheral vision, he could already see Team 2 standing up from their table.

Honda refilled his cup, pinched his nose, and drank. Lee and Horo Horo followed suit.

Finally, they were finished drinking, and the waiter gave them the clue, which instructed them to go to Kew Gardens, for another semi-Pit Stop.

"I wonder," Fuji said, "when will they start eliminating people?"

His teammates shrugged and rushed out of the restaurant. They snatched first place once again.

**F O O T N O T E S**

(1) The huge bell that Momo found is called the Great Peter. Obviously, it's the largest bell in York Minster.

(2) I saw in a YouTube video that people are not allowed to enter 251 Menlove Avenue. It must be to protect the heritage that is John Lennon's house.


End file.
